Barbed Wire Dreams
by ScaraMedn
Summary: She's a veteran cop. He's a perennial ragamuffin. That's all there is to it, as far as she cares. Then, something happens that Detective Hopps can't explain or accept. The smug fox she knows and tries to ignore comes to her aid with lightening pulled from the wires and graffiti that snarls. Now, she has to decide; run like hell, or embrace the barbed wire dreams.
1. Prologue

Cities are strange things. Every one is unique, possessed of its own character and personality. They are places where living things reside; they live, love, suffer and die. They're places where dramas and comedies play out every hour of every day. Their occupants each bring their own energies and ambitions, their talents, hopes and fears. They are melting pots filled with the emotions, beliefs and actions of their myriad inhabitants.

In their infancies, cities are merely cyphers, hollow shells built for the use of their occupants. Over time, they grow and change, expand and crumble with the changing times. Before long, cities come alive with more than the sum of their residents. They take on a life of their own with their own spirit and will; their own personality. Their own soul. Even an abandoned city can feel haunted by the ghost of what it was when living beings walked their streets and lived their lives as cells of the greater being.

Anyone can feel the soul of a city as they walk it's streets. You can taste it on the air, feel it in the rumble of traffic. You can hear its voice in the roar of traffic. You can see its purpose in all its majesty in any direction you look. You can sense it's life in the ambient bustle and know it is aware of you. That is, if you think to pay attention.

Every city has a soul. Every city is alive.

There are some mammals who understand this as more than the platitudes of city planners and mayoral candidates. There are mammals who see that tripe for what it is; small minds taking credit for the workings of something greater. There are mammals who listen when their city speaks, who feel the warp and weft of the urban reality that most mammals ignore. They are few, but gifted in their environment as the shaman of ancient tribes were. The druids and spirit walkers, shaman and dream speakers gained power through their understanding of the spirit of the land and what is a city but another variety of same?

The ones adopted by the cities to hear their voices are few. Very few. They have no homes, but the streets and structures of the city itself. They are rare just as the shaman of old were and equally elusive.

I am one of these. My name is Nicolas Wilde. I am a sorcerer.


	2. Chapter 1

She found him where she knew he would be; where she expected him to be; absent. As always.

The kabab shop in Hyena Heights was a crummy dive of a place. The walls were greasy and faded. There were scorch marks around the doorway to the back. The concrete floor was filthy and the mismatched tables and chairs scattered haphazardly against the walls looked to be on their last legs. Judy suspected there would be enough health code violations to choke a moose if she so much as looked. However, she only had eyes for him. Eyes that calculated.

He was sitting, or more accurately lounging, in the cheap plastic chair like it was a throne and he a barbarian king, nibbling something greasy on a stick. He looked the same as ever.

She'd known him practically since she joined the police service, eight years ago. He'd always looked the same. Gaudy shirt, dull slacks, smug grin and his bag of tricks, as he called it. She'd been forced to go through that bag several times. It didn't have much in it, most days. Usually, some sidewalk chalk, a magic marker, a ring of uncut keys, one church key, a few ounces of salt base for seasoning rice, a tiny pocket knife so dull soft tofu would be a challenge to cut, a palm-sized note book with pages missing and a ballpoint pen so old it had a patina.

No drugs. No weapons. No contraband. Not even a can of spray paint. She'd even had the grimy canvas bag swabbed and tested. It was obviously never washed, so if it had come into contact with anything illegal, it'd show up. Nothing. Not a drop of anything, just like his blood work. He was completely clean; drug and disease free.

So why he was always around events like the arrests the other night was a mystery. She'd taken him in as a mammal of interest once she saw him at the second or third crime scene, but he'd had an alibi. Each and every time he appeared, it seemed to be by coincidence. She checked. Early on in their acquaintance, she backtracked his movements every time hoping to make a connection. There never was one. Over time her fervor dwindled. Now, she only occasionally checked to make sure, by force of habit. He seemingly just wandered to where it was happening, whatever it was. There was no rhyme or reason to his movements that she could see and that was with eight years under her belt.

He had no criminal record. No connection to any suspects in any case on record. No listed residence, either! She would have arrested him for vagrancy, but she could never prove it. When she'd found occasion to frisk him, his wallet had a few notes, a renewable ZTA pass and a condom. He did have an ID, but it lived somewhere else, apparently. Upon demand the fox had procured it, seemingly from thin air, or behind her ear. The latter particularly irritated her.

She'd seen it. She knew she had, but the second it was out of her sight she forgot what it said and no method of copying it worked, either. Camera phones magically fell out of focus, written copies turned into chicken scratched, or Rorschach blots. It drove her to distraction. Much like the fact that he was so damnably hard to track down, even tracking his ZTA Card. Sometimes it felt to her that unless he wanted to be found, she couldn't find him. She'd tried so many times and never succeeded. He always, without exception, found her.

Today was no exception.

She'd walked into the kabab shop doubting he'd be there and he wasn't. She turned around and there he was, looking straight at her. He smiled at her gaping expression and breezed past her into the shop where he collected an order that apparently was waiting for him, paid, sat and started eating.

Now, she had him. If she could only get her brain to work again.

She shook herself and saw his smirk grow between bites. She hated feeling like he found her amusing. She stomped over and sat opposite him. She knew intimidation would accomplish nothing. She tried anyway.

Her stare didn't faze him in the least. "See something you like, Carrots? Or are you just that bored?"

"I thought I told you to refrain from calling me that." Her businesslike tone not hiding her annoyance.

"I remember. So, what do you want, Carrots?", he replied with a smirk, before continuing his meal.

"I need your help." 

"That's a funny word, isn't it?", he commented around a mouthful of food.

Now, she was confused. "What word?" She hated how he could reroute conversations.

"The word "need". It implies requirement. In this case, that you require my assistance; require, as in without it, you can't proceed with your investigation. You and I both know that is not true. Not even a little. Especially, as you don't have a case you're working." He punctuated his statement with another bite, not bothering to hide his canines or his indifference.

"How do you know?" Her tough-cop front was cracking and it was barely two minute into the conversation. She doubled down and went for angry.

"Trade secret." He smirked and held up a finger, staying her retort until he'd swallowed. "The few times you've been on a case around me, you never sit. You only sit when you don't feel it'd be a waste to not be moving."

"You seem awfully sure of yourself."

"I am. Now, what do you want, Carrots?"

Judy fumed. Not just at the nickname, but at being so obviously read. "I need you to explain what happened last night."

"That's simple.", Nick replied, coolly. "While you were arresting that dealer, his supplier was going to jump you. I intervened to protect you. You tasered me. It's all in my statement and backed up by the CCTV footage."

Judy bit back, "It didn't show what you did, because you were outside it's footprint."

"Take it up with the technician who installed it." Another mouthful.

He was halfway done. She wouldn't be able to keep him from leaving once he finished, so she had to delay him. "Your statement also didn't take into account the flashbang you used to deter the suspect. Flashbangs are illegal for civilians to possess, or make themselves."

He didn't slow his pace a bit. "And you also know I neither made, nor used one. The tests you ran on my clothes and fur confirmed that."

"It had to have been that."

"Carrots, are you claiming I'm clever enough to develop a new type of non-lethal crowd control weapon that leaves no chemical traces and has no casing? Because, if I had, I wouldn't have used it to protect your adorable little cottontail from a drug peddler. I'd have sold it to the military or weapons manufacturers and retired to Pawlenesia, a very wealthy mammal."

"How did you know there wasn't a casing?" It was a long shot and she knew it, but anything to keep him talking. Maybe in blowing holes in her questions, he'd slip up.

"If there had been, you'd have found it, run your tests and then arrested someone else, because neither my prints nor fur would be on it. I dislike weapons. Thus, there couldn't have been a casing, because there was no flashbang." The fox swallowed and sipped his drink before continuing. "A few lightbulbs popped when I was running that weasel off. I startled him and he bumped into an old junction box. There must have been a short, or something and pop! You said yourself, you smelled the vapors."

"That doesn't explain the rest of it." Judy was getting frustrated. She was getting nothing but shut down. She needed answers.

"What rest of it? I do believe what we've discussed was exactly what you put in your report. Are you claiming you left something out?" Another bite. Less than a third of his meal remained.

Judy stared daggers at him. She was trapped. His explanation was the official version of events, but it did not cover the rest of what she saw, or heard that night. Her ears were good and she knew the snarls she had heard did not come from the fox across from her. She also knew that the weasel he'd "scared off" hadn't been found, yet. She suspected he would have some electrical burns and not from bumping a junction box. More like Nick's accomplice wielding a very illegal, overpowered stun-gun.

"Something like the accomplice who snarled and used your homemade stun-gun?"

The look she got in return was pitying. It made her teeth clench. "Oh, Fluff… You know as well as I do that there was no one else in that alley. Your wolf coworker, Wolford was it? Didn't he clear the scene with his partner, the other wolf?" Another bite and sip.

She nodded sharply, once.

He swallowed and took another. "Isn't it standard procedure to confirm no other mammals were present via Search & Sniff?"

Another sharp nod.

"And they found no other mammals present but you, me, the weasel I scared off and the capybara you cuffed. Right?" A swallow and a sip.

Judy forced a "No." out of her throat, through gritted teeth.

"Therefore, no stun-gun, no flashbang, no accomplice and no reason to press charges on me." Nick picked up his now empty paper plate and made his way to the bin. Judy followed. "Sorry, Fluff. Wish I could have helped more!"

As he turned to leave, she stopped in front of him and stood her ground. He stopped in turn and added a raised eyebrow to his expression. "Can I help you in some other way, Detective?"

Judy was fed up and at a dead end, but she would never leave a loose end like this. "Wilde, I am not done with you. I will find out what happened that night and if you did anything illegal, I will have your ass in cuffs so fast your head will spin."

Nick grinned as he bent down, decidedly inside her personal space. Almost nose-to-nose, in a voice that dripped teasing suggestiveness, he said, "Your cuffs won't fit my posterior, Carrots, but if you want to cuff me I can make myself available. Your place or mine?"

It took everything Judy had not to blush, or punch him. "In your dreams, Wilde."

Nick stood and sidestepped her, but stopped just as his muzzle passed her ears. "Wouldn't you like to know."

Judy spun on her heels, filled with indignity. Ready to lay into him, when her turn planted her cheek onto his lips. She back peddled, all her fury gone to fluster and surprise. "Watch it, Wilde. Do that again and It'll be sexual harassment."

The momentary flash of surprise on his face melded smoothly back into his usual smirk. His usual wry tone made her blush threaten to deepen. "You find something sexual in an accidental peck on the cheek? I had no idea you were so innocent, Carrots. How's the ex-husband, by the way?", and he was out the door. 

When Judy rushed over to give him the tongue lashing he deserved, the door popped into its frame and jammed for a moment. By the time she got it open, the red fox was gone. She fumed the whole way back to the station.

As she walked the streets of her city, away from her wasted lunch-hour with the fox, she found herself conflicted. It was a common experience for her, when it came to Nick. Looking back, she was sometimes concerned about her interest in him. He seemed like a nice mammal, sometimes. At others, he was an unmitigated ass. For example, she hated to be reminded of her failed marriage and he knew it. However, he also arranged for the kabab shop owner to stop her before she left and give her a takeaway. She just did not get it.

He'd been on the ZPD radar for years when she joined up. Investigating the fox was something of a rite of passage in precinct One. It was the first time she had been called in to Chief Bogo's office. He investigations into the fox had not gone unnoticed. It was the first mystery about the fox where she actually got some answers.

"If he's not important, why have him flagged?" Judy was confused. It didn't make sense that her hard work had gotten her pulled in to the Chief's office. She was just following protocol.

"Because you aren't the first, Hopps." Her boss replied, tiredly. "That fox has come across my desk so many times in the last five years, I've lost count and I have a photographic memory. Every single cop in this precinct has investigated him for showing up at multiple crime scenes. Not a single crime associated."

"He must have done something." Judy grumbled half-heartedly.

Bogo's response was a surprise to Judy, both for its sincerity and it's candor. "That attitude is what got Lalynxski suspended. I do not suggest you follow his example."

"Yes, sir!" Judy knew about the IA investigation from the rumor mill. It was nothing to take lightly.

Bogo turned down the wattage on his glower before shooing her out of his office. His parting words were both confusing and concerning. "He tends to prefer befriending females, so if you're his new buddy go tell Francine. She'll be glad to be rid of him." She was.

That was eight years ago. It was fitting that she recalled that chat with the chief, as she walked into the precinct. Francine Trunkaby herself was at the front desk chatting to Sergeant Clawhauser. Judy liked both of them, so she decided to take a pit stop and hopefully raise her mood.

The elephant glanced up at the doors opening and did a double-take. "Hopps, what's got your cotton tail in a twist?"

"That damn fox. What else?" Judy did not like how close to a growl her voice was. It was enough to get Clawhauser's eyebrows to rise, though the big cat held his tongue.

Francine seemed genuinely concerned. "Geez, Judy. When he was following me around, he was never that bad. Annoying at times, but nothing to get pissed at."

"I seriously doubt he gave you a kiss on the cheek. I swear I want a shower. Maybe a delousing.", the rabbit groused.

"Wait. He did what?" The concern in the pachyderm's voice was replaced with flat disbelief.

"I went looking for him at lunch. He found me and ruffled my fur, as always."

"Damn. He never did anything like that with me."

With a sigh, Judy finally let the anger drop. Maybe a joke would lighten the tension. She really had plenty, as it was. "Probably had something to do with your cheek being several stories above his head. Unless kissing your other pair was what he was after."

Ben finally joined the conversation. "He's not the type. I'm still surprised, though. Didn't think he was the type for affection, either."

Francine hummed her agreement before checking her watch. "I gotta meet Higgins for patrol. Fill me in later?"

Judy nodded and the gargantuan officer lumbered off, leaving her and her favorite feline alone at the desk. Judy didn't have to wait long before the cat's pointed gaze made her uncomfortable. "What?"

The big cat was always one of her favorite mammals. He'd make someone a wonderful wife, one day. In the mean time, he was her staunchest supporter and one of her closest friends. He knew she didn't like talking about the fox, or any part of her personal life, publicly. "She's gone, now, Jude. What actually happened?"

She rolled her eyes before replying. "He was in my personal space and I turned quickly. His lips bopped my cheek. That's all."

"Sounds like an accident to me, Hopps," Claws commented with a raised eyebrow.

"It was." She sounded miserable, even to herself.

"So why are you so angry?" Understandable confusion on his end. Judy still didn't like it.

"I tried to use it as a handle, but he blew it off," Judy grumbled.

"What did you do?"

"Tried to warn him off about sexual harassment, but he just chided me for finding anything sexual in such a small thing. Then, he ribbed me about James." Gods, she sounded bratty. She looked up to see her friend's uncharacteristically considering face. "What?"

"You know he's been with you for longer than anyone?"

"You make him sound like a husband."

"He predates your husband."

"Ex-husband" She hated making the correction. Again. She knew it was a petty detail, but it hurt every time, both for the fact of having to do it and the reminder of her largest failure. "And why does that matter?"

"Didn't he say something about you and James not working?" The feline was working up to something.

"He said several things. All lucky guesses," Judy replied cagily.

"They were all correct?" He was inspecting his claws. He only did that when he was absolutely sure he had her pegged.

"Uhhuh. Like I said, luck," She really did not like where this was headed.

"Or he's paying attention." He posed the point as casually as commenting on the weather, with all the ease of stating fact.

Judy sighed. She could guess what was next. "What are you getting at, Clawhauser?" It wasn't the first time.

"Judy, mammals don't just guess with that kind of success rate." A fair point. She had to agree. She hated to agree.

It was time to turn this away from her friend's scripted conversation. "You think he's spying on me? Like he's a stalker?"

"No, no. You know he isn't. Stop being a DB and think about it!" His open annoyance was easily outstripped by her own. She hated even the acronym of that term. She'd fought against it for so long and he was the only mammal she even tolerated it from, because she knew he wasn't serious. It still pissed her off. The fact that he was presenting logical, well-reasoned arguments didn't help. "He's been around you longer than anyone. He's been around longer than your husband."

"Ex-husband," Judy grated out.

His eyeroll was expected and she braced for the heavy blows. "He always knows where to find you. He pays enough attention that he knows your moods and state of your personal life. He even knows how you take that awful tea you drink. He even got you home that one night after the holiday party, when we were all drunk."

Judy snapped, "So, you're saying instead of a freaky stalker, he's interested in me, what, romantically?"

In response, the cheetah only shrugged and made the "I've made my case" paw motion.

"Dream on, Ben."

She grabbed her bagged lunch and went to her desk. She ate as she worked her way through the usual pile of paperwork and documentation needed for a case wrap-up. She just wanted shot of this day. Like most days where the fox showed up, this one was full of frustrations.

She knew Ben liked seeing everyone at the station paired up and happy. He'd even thought that she and James were good together. At the time, Judy had agreed. She had right up to finding out about the does he was running on the side. Their marriage had ended two years ago. For as much pride as she brought the family for her professional accomplishments, there was that little record she held which was nothing but shame for her: shortest marriage to date in her family.

Judy finished her shift and got out of the precinct as quickly as she could. There was nothing to help settle her mind there. Sadly, her apartment was just as bad. She hated the broom closet she'd had to move into after the divorce. It was just like the greasy closet she lived in when she first came to the city. She called it Square One. She'd been there for two years and had no plans to leave. There wasn't a point to it. She barely spent any time there, anyway, other than to sleep.

It was avoiding the facts, but it was all she could do at this point. She had no kits, no mate, no prospects and no interest. As she microwaved her usual tasteless meal, she couldn't help but face the truth. The last one was a lie.

She was a rabbit. She hated being alone. Affection was one of the things she missed most in her life. She had it from her family growing up. After leaving to pursue her dreams, she missed it until she met James. She'd missed it since they split; most strongly when the day was done. Then, she was back to Square One - an amazing career and professional life, with a hollow personal life. It was always about this time, when the microwave dinged, that James' parting shot bubbled back up to her mind; that she was married to her work and there was no room for anything else in her life. Then, he walked away. They hadn't exchanged so much as a syllable since.

Ben and her mother both wondered why, after so long, she still hadn't even tried dipping a toe into the dating pool. The truth was that she still hurt. He'd spoken the truth. He was a cheating bastard and the judge had backed her up on it. She didn't deserve to be cheated on. However, she also knew that James didn't deserve to be neglected the way he had been. Infidelity was his failing. Neglect was hers. She wished they'd been adults and talked things out before it got as bad as it had, but that was impossible now. Hopefully, he was happier with whichever bimbo he'd settled on.

His happiness wasn't her issue, either way. Not anymore. Her problem was getting used to being alone. She wasn't going to have a round-two. One failed marriage was enough for her. As much as she hated it, James was right. She was married to her work; to her service to the city. There wasn't room in her world for another commitment like that and she had no desire to make the attempt. Anyone she loved enough to marry didn't deserve to be ignored in favor of her career. James hadn't.

She choked down her dinner and started to get ready for bed. Half undressed, the prospect of another night laying there in her panties and sleep shirt revolted her. She knew how it would go. She'd try to relax, or at least find the resignation that would let her get through another sleepless night. She'd fail. Rather than waste the steps between, she pulled her jeans and jacket back on and went wandering.

It was something she found herself doing when she couldn't sleep, or felt restless. For some reason, wandering the city calmed her. She felt more at home on the sidewalk, aimlessly ghosting the streets, than she did almost anywhere else. Just the feeling of the sidewalk under her feet was enough for her to feel the tension bleed out of her shoulders.

She breathed the air that smelled of millions of mammals and more habitats than anywhere else on the planet. It smelled of exhaust and stress, ambition and anxiety, laughter and tears, desire and lies. Everything she loved about her city. It was nights like this that she felt it live and she felt her drive renew to make it better than it was yesterday and better again tomorrow.

It made the hurt and loneliness worth it to know she helped. When she walked the streets like this she didn't feel alone, or afraid. She just wandered her pains away and, eventually, found her way home in time for a handful of hours of sleep. She flopped onto her bed still wearing the smells of the nighttime city and drifted to sleep. 

Hours later, she woke up panting, drenched in sweat. Her body was a mass of conflicting, incoherent sensations and not all of them were organic. Trying to wrap her head around that idea gave her a headache.

Her dreams roiled through her. In the darkness behind her eyelids, the strangest images and scenarios played out. Traffic was her blood, the winds and exhaust were her breath, the sewers were her bowels and that new construction down by the canals itched something fierce. She saw dozens of mammals and machines living their lives. Felt the hopes of stray plastic bottles and the fierce anger of the oppressed cockroach masses. The water pressure in the Rainforest District sprinkler system tickled as it flowed, the snow and sand blew pleasantly. The climate walls hummed through her bones, just like the electricity in the wires thrummed along her nerves. 

She knew she was losing her mind.

She absently yanked her clothes off and ran to the shower on autopilot. She needed to get up, out and moving. It was still hours shy of her usual alarm clock going off, but she needed to not be sitting still, or she'd crack.

As the water cascaded over her frame, the memories from her dreams kept coming. Every second she had slept was filled with strange dreams and they were all desperate to get into the post-sleep montage. She was on her knees and shaking as she realized they were getting near the end. That was where he showed up.

The damn fox.

It took her a bit to realize it was him. He was dressed as he always was, but his face was different. The features were the same, but the mammal wasn't. His cheeky grin was gone, as was the playfulness in his eyes. He wore an expression of long-suffering patience and he was certainly not mammalian. She watched as he inhaled and blew out exhaust smoke to break up a mugging, pulled light from the bulbs on a side street so a tired wolf could make his way to the hospital without being spotted by the gang who hunted him, and walked through shadows as though they were doorways. Tundratown's cold didn't bother him any more than the heat of Sahara Square.

The montage continued, giving her a show of everything the fox did, all evening and through the night. She realized she was dry and half-dressed about the time her relived dreams took a turn she wasn't prepared for. The fox was walking on the waterfront, watching the sun rise. The light hit his coat and he seemed in that moment to be fire and light made flesh and fur. Then, just to make her reality bend a little more, he turned and looked her square in the face. His emerald eyes flashed with mirth and confidence.

His smile was his usual cocky grin and his voice his usual lazy timbre as he said, "Morning, Carrots," as if he was passing her on the street.

Her paws stopped she got her shirt over her head and her jaw dropped. Nick gave her a very obvious once-over with his eyes before quipping, "Looking good." And he was gone.

She sprinted out the door to the ZTA station by her apartment. She needed answers and she knew where to get them. All Judy could think as she ran was, "What in the buttery blue fuck was that?"

Nick sat, more accurately slumped, as he rode the ZTA bus away from his little lunch with Carrots. He was tired. Thirteen years was a long time to wait and eight of those were knowing who he was waiting for. It was far too late for him to change vocations. He'd made his choice and there was no going back. At the time, he hadn't known he'd be going it alone.

His mentor was dead, as were most of his colleagues. All that was left of the old guard was himself and Liam, an aardvark that was already losing himself to the city. Those others who had survived decided to move on, or let themselves be consumed entirely.

He was one doing the work of many. He needed help. And company.

Once upon a time Judith Hopps had been as bright as she was driven; a veritable light of the city. As she was, she would have been able to take the pressure off him by half. If she had just not met that damn buck. Three years of coaxing and long, slow effort gone. Exposing her to the city, opening her to the beauty and spirit of the place, helping her love for it become something potent enough to make the connection, blown away because of a pub crawl and a buck who was buying.

Now, her light was muted; strangled by her bitterness and regret; her self-loathing. It disgusted him. That worthless buck would hurt for what he did and Nick wouldn't have to do a thing. The city would balance those scales in her own time. That was none of his concern. In the meantime, Nick had work to do.

He didn't regret giving her the meal, any more than he regretted cutting her little fishing expedition short. It was a simple cantrip. He'd summoned the memory of rain from the RD and reminded the wooden doorframe of when it lived. It stirred in memory of when sap flowed through it and rain eased its unquenchable thirst and swelled. He felt the Number 22 bus, running exactly 4 minutes late as always, about to pull away and slipped aboard just as the doors were closing. It was a small gratification to see her consternation at his disappearance. It was a small compensation for her anger and accusations.

He didn't regret it, but it didn't feel very good to him. It was a hollow gesture. Once, they might have shared a meal. Now, he was interrogated, while he took a small rest from his duties.

He slipped off the bus at a random stop. He knew it was the right one. He felt it. It was time for pest control.

Two boars were standing in the alley across the road, waiting for some hapless mammal to wander past. Typical muggers. The scent of blood on them was strong enough that the air around them seemed tainted red to Nick, as he took them in. They didn't see him. The shadow of the building behind him concealed him from their sight and the exhaust blunted his scent. He sighed and stepped back into the building, through the concrete and glass and up to the roofs of the building across the street. He was above his prey, unobserved by the common mammal; hidden by his benefactor. He did not enjoy this aspect of his calling. Pulling weeds was scut work. He'd done more than his share as an apprentice. Now, he had to do it again, because there was no one else who could. His distaste and frustration at that rabbit drove his emotions higher.

The fox reached out to the airs of the city as they whipped between buildings, funneling them; guiding them to where he was. Suddenly, the two porcine degenerates were engulfed by a freak blast of wind. Trash blew into them from every direction, disorienting them and blunting their senses as well as their voices. No one heard them, just as they failed to hear.

Barbed wire slid along the walls and floor of the alley, like living vines. The boars inevitably blundered into them as they choked on the exhaust-saturated air and fought the rubbish as it collected on their bodies, like a cocoon, and they struck. The tendrils of sharp metal leapt from the walls and floors to embed themselves in the flesh of their victims. Bone broke and skin tore under an assault that lasted a heartbeat, before the would-be muggers were dragged down through a manhole cover and into the bowels of the city.

Nick released his hold on the magic and let it slip away. He sat on the roof top for a moment to rest. The feeling of the area lightened fractionally. It felt safer. Weed plucked.

There was more to do. He was needed in the Meadowlands.

It was still full daylight, so the shadows were still thick and lush. Nick slipped into the lee of the stairwell and vanished into the shadow. The crushing pressure and sensationless void were nothing unusual in Nick's world. It still itched a little, though.

As he stepped out of the shadow of a huge tree in a cemetery with a view of the alpine district, he saw why he was there. A teenaged goat was standing by a grave, swilling wine straight from the bottle. It was clear the kid needed closure, but couldn't find it. Nick didn't need the reminder. The wine bottle shattered as it came to rest on the headstone. The goat gaped. He hadn't put it down that hard. Dark liquid dribbled over the engraved name and the trees rustled. The kid finally cried for mommy and broke down.

Nick hadn't been subtle. He didn't need to be. He didn't want to be. The same ache he always had was there.

All afternoon and evening, into night he worked. Again.

Alone.

Still.

The same as it'd been since Finnick and the others died.

As the fox stepped into and out of shadows, onto and off of busses and trains, it was all the same. The crushing weight of responsibilities and loneliness. Back and forth across the city, he worked his magic and kept the city in balance; weeding, pruning, exterminating, scratching itches and soothing hurts. By dawn, he was drained. He needed sunlight.

In that quiet hour before dawn, when every city settles just a touch in anticipation of a new dawn, Nick found himself walking the line between water and land. It was one of the few places he felt the balance of the land most strongly. It was where he finally felt what he'd been waiting for, for eight long years.

Her presence was there. She was awake and she saw him. His heart buoyed and for the first time since he couldn't remember when, the sun breaking the surface and shining over his fur felt like a benediction again.

He turned to face her and was stunned to see her form. She must have dreamed deeply to come so far in a night. A full-body manifestation over distance usually took a few months. Maybe she was making up for lost time, with the city's help. Whatever it was, it was the first heartening moment he'd experienced in a very long time.

He grinned. "Morning, Carrots."

Then, he saw her state of fluster and undress. Police work definitely treated her well, from what he saw. He couldn't resist. He dragged his eyes over her, taking in every inch. "Looking good." And he severed the connection.

He settled on a nearby bench to wait. He knew she'd find him. Finally. For once, he didn't have to go looking for her.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N:

I Live!

Now that I've gotten my Mushu impersonation out of the way, there are a couple things I want to address. First, thank you for all your reads, reviews and feedback. I am eternally grateful. Second, my apologies for any errors, or typos. I'm a bit rushed because I'm packing to move house. Third, I am going to be delayed slightly in posting the next chapter because of said move. Again, my apologies. All I can say is that I will be back to regular posts (as much a I can claim I do those) as soon as possible. Thank you all, again, for reading!

* * *

Judy sprinted out of her apartment building, barely avoiding the porcupine who lived next door and the greasy beaver who pretended to be the superintendent, on the stairs. As she blasted out the door, she spared a blink to seethe at him. She hated the disgusting rodent and how he looked at her every time she walked past him. He made no secret of his interest in anything female that crossed his path, regardless of age. The only thing that had spared him a closer acquaintance with her handcuffs was he hadn't actually done anything, but leer. If she had been less upset, she would have noticed his usual slimy expression was absent, replaced with wide-eyed fear.

Judy was angry. Whatever had just happened, she knew Wilde was involved and she damn well was going to get answers. As she ran, she fanned her anger. She kept it hot and close to the surface. She had to. If she didn't she'd have to admit she was afraid. She was utterly terrified of what had happened and she would never, ever admit it.

She had to get two busses to make it to where he was. Judy had no idea how she knew that, but she did. Her knowledge of the public transit system had once been fairly substantial. It had not survived her marriage and the convenience of having a personal vehicle that two incomes afforded her. Now, the car was gone. She'd sold it along with most of the other assets she won in the divorce. As she had lived a stone's throw from the precinct since the divorce, she hadn't bothered renewing her knowledge. Therefore, how she knew exactly where to go and how to get there on an almost instinctive level was unsettling to her. Just one more scoop on the sundae.

Unfortunately for Judy, reality seemed to be going for a record of some kind and the scoops kept on coming. She felt drawn along. It was like a thread in front of her that she could follow. The weirdness didn't stop there. Mammals seemed to shift subtly out of her way, lights favored her at the crosswalks. Even hazard cones seemed to be placed to speed her along. She made it to the bus stop and hopped on just as the ZTA bus doors slapped shut, barely missing her fluffy little tail. She rode the bus, not even knowing which one it was until she felt a tug on her senses to disembark.

Judy didn't understand, but she also was too upset to think about it; more focused on keeping her fear at bay. She dashed over to another ZTA stop a short way away and slipped onto another bus in the same way. It occurred to her that there was no way she would ever have made such close connections herself before that day. It was a thought that she buried as she scampered off the second bus and onto the sidewalk.

Her sprint to the leisure path along the water was over before Judy registered she'd moved. Grass, flagstones, trees and park benches flew past as she moved with incalculable certitude to where she was sure, absolutely sure he was.

It was not lost on her that it was a first and a strange one. Knowing where he was at any time prior to this day was something she had given up on long ago. However, now she knew as easily as knowing she had a left ear. She also knew that he was alone. It was galvanizing to know where he was for once and it spurred her. She was closing on her target and knew that she would be able to beat the answers she needed out of him. There was no escape for the fox. The fury that had blunted during her confinement to public transportation bloomed hot behind her eyes, again. Then, she crested the last rise between them and Judy's fury puttered out, along with the fear it was hiding. When she saw him, she had no idea what she was feeling.

He sat on a park bench that had seen better days, basking in the sunlight like a lizard on a rock, but he did not look like the scruffy, orange screwball she knew. For one thing, he was smiling; not the smug grin she always saw him with, not the look of weary discipline she saw in her dream theatre. It was a smile that filled her with a sense of wonder; a feeling that was alien to her. It had been for too long since she had felt anything other than the weight of expectations and bitterness at her own failings.

The other thing that gave her pause was the fact that, she was alone in an isolated place with a male she didn't trust, but she felt completely safe. They were in the open, in a depression created by a low ridge and a few well-sculpted shrubs. Opposite him was a grungy vendor's booth. The only clean thing on it was the protective storm window covering its front. The next nearest structure was a pagoda that was held up purely by the crusted salt and grime colonizing it. No one was anywhere nearby; no children, no parents, not even a hobo, or rubbish collector. They were as private as she had ever been in her life and in the center of a public place that would normally be teaming with families and beachgoers.

Her sense of uncertainty only continued to grow as things from Judy's dream became real. As Nick stretched, his form seemed to be more a suggestion than a fact to her eyes. His fur seemed to blend with the sunlight, the border between them blurring. As he stretched, the wood and concrete of the bench he sat on seemed to blend through him. He seemed more and less real than his surroundings.

Sometimes, a mammal could feel more potent than the room they occupied. Chief Bogo had been one such mammal, before his retirement. Some mammals could change depending on where they were and let their environment shape them. In that moment, the fox she knew defined his environment even as it defined him. It sparked another feeling she hadn't experienced in a very long time: awe.

She was so awed that, she jumped when he spoke.

"You look positively bashful, there, Carrots. What gives?"

Once she landed, she was afraid to move. "How did you know I was there? Did you feel my presence?"

The fox chuckled and lifted his face to point at his nose. Judy instantly felt ridiculous for even asking the question. Apparently, she left her brain in the shower. She registered that she had been upwind of him from the moment she had gotten off the bus. He probably had smelled her coming for several minutes.

Annoyed at her missing the obvious, but still riveted in place she followed up with, "And what makes you think I look bashful?"

In response, the fox pointed at the booth across from them. It was worn, but in the early morning light the storm window managed to show a reflection. Judy immediately flopped her ears behind her in embarrassment. She was wringing her paws at chest level, wide-eyed and looked very demure. She looked like a kit who'd been caught sneaking up on a crush. Her anger flared again as she stomped around to face her quarry and finally get some answers. She regretted her decision, as she flushed with the same sense of exposure she felt when he raked his eyes over her, earlier.

Judy did not like feeling pierced by his gaze now any more than she liked being seen half-dressed by him, then. Unfortunately, she didn't know how she felt about it at all. It didn't help that he was the first male to see her in a state of undress for years, or that he complimented her. Whatever she felt, she had a few things to deal with that had a higher priority than her confused fluster.

Detective Hopps didn't have long to recover from her initial shock. Things only got worse. The longer she looked, the more she felt out of her depth. Something felt different. Okay, everything felt different. She still hadn't shaken off the weird feelings from the dreams and she was rattled as hell from whatever ESP nonsense Wilde had pulled on her. Now, she was overwhelmed just being in his presence and felt naked to the bone when he looked at her. It was way too much for her to handle. No matter what she did or tried, none of these weird feelings would go away; not the ones from the dream, not the ones she felt because of him.

The cherry on top was that as if it wasn't bad enough that she was all out of sorts and had weird feelings rocketing through her, she kept getting this weird feeling of deja vu. With so many mysteries already on her mind, this one was completely unappreciated. It was also the most persistent. It was just one more thing she would have to get to the bottom of.

She snapped out of her mental tangent and realized he was walking away from her. Not quickly. More at a strolling pace, just like he had when they first met, only without the bizarre head start. She hastened after him and he seemed completely at ease as she caught up.

Before she could utter a syllable, Nick cut in. "You want answers."

"You bet your red ass, I do."

"Such language, detective… Naughty, naughty."

"Wilde, you are going to tell me what that was."

"The dreams? Yes, I will. Among other things, but Carrots, first, we are going to enjoy a little walk. You have the time before your shift and it's a beautiful morning."

Judy could find nothing else to say at that moment. She found herself surprised, almost chastened. She'd expected him to fight her, or be a pain in the tail, as usual. She did not expect frankness, let alone a simple, reasonable agreement to her demands. It left her unconnected to all her expectations and more than a little discombobulated. She was very much not in control.

As they walked, Judy was getting a little of the iron back in her spine, but only a little. Not enough to be her usual self. Certainly, not enough to go toe-to-toe with the fox for answers. She felt vulnerable. The awe and fear still lingered. Her bravado was just that and she knew it. She also knew he knew it. Oddly, she felt something she had a hard time naming. In reality, she had a hard time naming it, because it was an admission that she was not comfortable with at all. She felt secure. That awkward realization made for a very discombobulated bunny.

To any onlookers, the two looked like soon-to-be lovers taking an early morning stroll. She looked demure and uncertain, a bit nervous or scared, perhaps. He looked calm and confident; very sure of where he stood. It would be so easy to assume he was waiting for her to work up the guts to confess her feelings. Indeed, an early morning jogger or two smirked as they passed.

Nick was aware of exactly how it looked. The pink tinge in the air around the mammals making the assumptions was obvious to him. It wouldn't be to a greenhorn novice, like her, but she was her own set of obvious tells. Her scent, and behavior was just a start. The impression she made on the atmosphere and her reactions were all hugely telling to him. Her emotions sparked on the air around her, creating a halo of anxiety and uncertainty. Much to Nick's surprise a tiny hint of nostalgia was in the mix and he wasn't sure what to make of that.

They were in no way close to lovers and if he didn't come through with the answers she wanted, he could very easily end up with a fresh set of bruises. Worse, he could alienate her. He just had to play his cards right and be patient. Nick's patience was rewarded when Judy's finally ran out.

Their meander along the waterfront was coming to an end. There were more mammals about than a few health nuts as they came away from the recreational spaces and back to the city proper. Nick didn't miss Judy taking a long calming breath as they left the borderlands and returned to the city proper; obviously in relief at returning to Her embrace. Similarly, Judy didn't miss that their perambulation was over and she was owed.

"Alright, Slick Nick." Judy began. "We've had our walk and now, you're going to cough up."

"Good grief, Carrots. You have no sense of grace, do you?"

"I don't need grace. I need you to tell me what happened last night."

"The way you said that is slightly suggestive, Fluff." Nick chuckled.

Nick realized that was the wrong thing to say when Judy grabbed his tie and yanked him down to her level. "Listen to me, you prick. I have been as patient as I am willing to be about this. You've already admitted to knowing what's going on, so spill."

Judy was getting aggressive and that wasn't going to help him in any way. Too much anger would cut her foundling connection to the city and he couldn't let that happen. He needed her awed, or surprised; off kilter, so she would be open to admitting what she saw was real. He needed her to be less a cop and more a kit, so he did what he did best. He was cheeky.

Nick slapped her paw off his tie and stepped into the shadows of the building behind them, only to reappear from another shadow behind her. "Or what? You'll arrest me because you had a bad dream?"

Judy suddenly found it hard to breathe. "Am I still dreaming?"

Nick's chuckle was wry and a little sad as he said, "Nope! Sorry, Fluff. This is real."

"I have to be dreaming. This has to be a dream."

"Why, because, in reality we could never do this?" Nick grabbed Judy's paw and walked into the shadow he had just stepped out of. When they stepped out of the shadows Judy found herself in the Alpine District. Nick enjoyed the look of slack-jawed bewilderment on her face. "Welcome to the mountains, Detective Hopps."

Judy's jaw wobbled about for a moment before she located her capacity for coherent speech.

"I don't understand."

"I know. Before I answer, I have a question I need you to answer. Do you love the city?"

"Of course, I do. I protect it every day!"

"Carrots, what you protect and serve are the citizens and civic machinery, respectively."

"What's the difference? Isn't that what a city is?"

"You know that isn't true. Otherwise, your late-night walks wouldn't be such a treat for you?"

"How do you know about those?"

"I used to wander, too. It made me feel safe and it bled away stress. I loved the feeling of the place; of just walking the streets and basking in it. Then, one night, I got home after a long walk. I'd wandered all over the city that night. I don't know why. I just did. I flopped onto my couch and fell fast asleep. I had a dream where the city was alive and I was a part of it. I thought I was crazy. That is, until I tracked down a face I recognized from the dream. There was this cantankerous little fennec fox I'd known off and on for years. I saw him do crazy things in my dream. I tracked him down, we had a few drinks, I told him what I dreamed. You know what he said?" Judy shook her head. "About damn time, slowpoke. Now, lets get to training you up."

"Training in what?"

"Magic. Before you get all worked up, you aren't Harry Otter and this isn't going to turn into anything like the J. K. Growling series. You are not a wizard, Fluffbutt."

"Then what am I?"

"Right now? Nothing but a crabby rabbit with a chance to be more."

"And that's what you are?"

"I'm not a rabbit. Those observational skills need some polish, Detective."

"What are you, Wilde?"

"I'm a sorcerer."

"What, like a druid, or a wizard?"

"Hah! This also isn't a game where wizards are smart, druids are wise, and sorcerers use force of will."

"Why don't you tell me what this is, then, instead of being obnoxious?"

"This is about the city and your connection to it; about your chance to be more than just another citizen, albeit one with a badge."

"What does that mean?"

"We'll find out. In the meantime, you have your shift to get to and I have work to do." The fox pointed down the road. "There's a rail station ten minutes that way. You'll just make the next train if you hurry."

As he walked away from her, Judy managed to catch up enough to shout after him. "We aren't done, Wilde!"

"Damn right we aren't, but it'll have to wait until after work. See you at 7:00, Carrots!", then he stepped into the shadow of a telephone pole and vanished.

"Bloody theatrical fox…"

Deciding to take him at his word, Judy hared off to the rail station. She managed to get on with a few moments to spare and even got a seat that was her size. Under normal circumstances, she'd call it a lucky day. Under these circumstances, she was uncertain what to call it. An hour and change later, Judy disembarked her third bus and walked in to the precinct. The welcome she got was anything but what she expected. Her first clue was Clawhauser's jaw hanging open. Then she noticed the looks from her other coworkers.

Sadly, the rabbit didn't put it together until Francine walked up and commented, "Damn, Judy. You are the last mammal I thought would make a walk of shame. Did that kiss on the cheek yesterday turn into something more?"

Judy was horrified. "Excuse me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

It was then that the wolf partners, Wolford and Lupus, walked up. Lupus picked up where the now taken aback elephant left off. "Hopps, you wore that exact outfit yesterday. Looks like you haven't changed, but your fur looks like you had a shower." The white wolf punctuated his statement with a gesture for her to fill in the blanks.

Judy was mentally stalled, so Francine picked up the thread again. "You also smell like sea air, the mountains and Wilde."

"Wilde? That fox-shaped shadow of hers?" Lupus inquired. "And what's this about a kiss? Did you hook up with him last night?"

Suddenly, the attention of the whole damn foyer centered on Judy. She felt her already-floppy ears flush red. Before the cat calls or inquiries could start, she had to do something. It was a common joke around the station that the fox was her boyfriend. The key word being "joke". It was just a little good-natured ribbing to cut the tension every once in a while, or so Judy had thought. It was obvious from the tensely-expectant expressions of interest from every single mammal in the foyer that she was the only one who thought it was a joke, now. The last thing she needed was this to happen, especially now. Fortunately, she was so devoted to her skill development that she had become creepily observant. Also, being an inveterate workaholic, as Clawhauser put it, she knew more than a few secrets.

Turning to Lupus, Judy smiled and asked, "How's this month's issue of Full Moon Howlers? You know, the subscription you have sent here because your wife would kill you for reading it?", just loud enough for Lupus, Wolford, Francine and Clawhauser to hear. The white wolf's face dropped and the eyes of the others bugged slightly. It was clear they got her message.

Lupus headed off to his office, saying, "Morning, Hopps," with Wolford in tow.

Her reply of, "Morning, Sergeant," was thick with satisfaction.

The others dispersed and Judy heard quite a bit of whispering. It was astonishing to her how many of her coworkers were suddenly interested in her non-existent romantic life. She then had to correct herself. As far as they were concerned, her romantic life wasn't quite so absent and from the level of interest, it wasn't a recent thing. She raked her paws over her face and headed towards her office, but only made it a few steps when she was stopped by Fangmeyer. The massive female tiger was the only mammal in the precinct that could match her on the sparring mat and after Clawhauser, her favorite feline.

Her second favorite feline was concerned. "What's the deal, Hopps?"

"Nothing. Bad night." The tiger raised her eyebrow at Judy's sad attempt at whitewashing. Judy sighed before elaborating. "I mean it, Lieutenant. Just some severely deranged dreams and then that damn fox."

"Is he stalking you?" The big cat was nothing if not astute.

"No. It isn't stalking if I go find him. He was just cryptic and weird. Typical Wilde."

"Is this something I should be making a case file for?"

Judy sighed in exasperation. She usually appreciated her coworkers looking out for her, but today it felt overbearing. Cops could get groupies and stalkers like anyone else, but Nick wasn't a stalker. She felt unexpectedly defensive of that point. "It's not a case. There isn't a crime. It's just a big, fat slice of nutjob pie a la mode for me, lately."

Lieutenant Fangmeyer pursed her lips in consideration before taking a small leap of faith. She knew Hopps could handle herself, but everyone had their limits. "Hopps, you might want to take the day."

"I don't need it." Judy's reaction was immediate after years of having to prove herself.

"Yes, you do, Bombshell Bunny. You're as tough as I am, but you're upset and threatening your coworkers after a little ribbing. Your head is not on the job. That kinda shit gets good cops killed, or suspended."

Judy wanted to argue, but the Lieutenant was right. More importantly, the tiger out ranked her. She didn't want to be ordered home. That would make it an official remanding and have consequences down the road. Also, it was only 7:15 and she was dead on her paws. "You're right."

"I know. More importantly, you know. Go home. Get some sleep, or unwind. Whatever gets your head straight. Clawhauser, call it in to the chief?"

"On it," the cheetah chirped as he hit the intercom.

"Thanks, Lieutenant." Now that it was over Judy felt relieved. One weight was gone and the exhaustion settled heavy on her. She knew bed would be where she spent most of her day.

"It's my job." The tiger replied, before smirking. "And I like making sure our mascot doesn't work herself to death."

Judy's lips quirked in return. "Sparring partners next week?"

The felid smirk became a grin. "Hells yes. I could use a few rounds with the resident tail-kicker. I'm with DelGato until Saturday. I'll need to blow off some steam after turning down his terrible pick-up lines all week."

Judy's eyeroll was reflexive. "Is he still after you?"

"Just what's between my neck and my knees."

Judy shook her head. "Figures. Tell you what, beers after sparring?"

"Deal."

Judy and Fangmeyer knocked fists before the big cat made her way to the bullpen and Judy headed for the doors. As he passed the desk, Clawhauser stopped her and offered to meet her for lunch at their usual hole-in-the-wall diner. Judy knew he was desperate to pick her brain about her "date". Hs also knew he wouldn't stop until he got something out of her. She agreed to meet at 1:00. Resigned to her fate, the exhausted rabbit trotted home, stripped down and face-planted into her pillow. It was a matter of heartbeats before she was out cold.

When she woke, it was still an hour and a bit until her lunch with Clawhauser. Grudgingly, she unrooted herself from the warm spot and went for a shower. Afterwards, she had to admit she felt better. She hadn't had any weird dreams, or anything. She felt refreshed, if a bit groggy. She was tempted to write the morning and night before off as a bad dream and pretend none of it had happened, but she knew better. She knew it would stick in her head until she caved and it was easier not to fight it.

She pulled herself together, making very sure to select a different outfit than the one she wore last night and this morning. She was very annoyed with herself for making such an obvious slip, but it made sense for her to grab what she immediately remembered in her haste and confusion. It still embarrassed her.

Sadly, not as much as her lunchtime conversation with her cheetah friend.

The mozzarella sticks hadn't even arrived at the table before he started in on her. "So…."

Judy was nonplussed as she preempted him. "I'm not dating him, Ben."

"Uhhuh…"

"What?"

"I'm just wondering when you'll drop the act," he replied nonchalantly.

"What act? We aren't dating!"

"I see. So, walking in this morning in yesterday's clothes, smelling like him and talking about tracking him down is, what, coincidental to his kissing you on the cheek, yesterday?" He made it sound so obvious. Much to her frustration, it sounded obvious to her, as well. Were the roles reversed, she'd see the same thing.

"Unfortunately for your presumptions, yes." Her frustration was turning to anger; an emotion the well-meaning feline didn't deserve.

"And I'm supposed to believe that?"

"Whether you believe it or not, it's the truth. You're working off of circumstantial evidence and assumptions."

"The evidence may be circumstantial, but it's pretty convincing." It was a perfectly reasonable analysis of the evidence. It was also wrong. There was nothing between her and Wilde but air and irritation; the whole walking through shadows mystery, aside.

"To you."

"To everyone but you, Judy. Why can't you see it?"

"Bloody hells, Benji. I can see it!" The cheetah goggled at her admission as she continued her rant. "I can see exactly how it looks. I'm not a complete fool! That's why it frustrates me so much! I'm not dating him, but there's enough "evidence" to convince every one of my coworkers that I am. Do you have any idea how infuriating that is for me?"

"Hopps, we aren't making these assumptions to be nasty. We're hoping you found someone who makes you happy."

"I don't want someone who makes me happy."

"That lie is as obvious as the ears on your head." Judy fumed. "Judy, we all know that what happened and how badly James hurt you, but before you and him went south you were like a different mammal." She didn't want to hear this. She heard it in her own head every single night and it hurt then. To hear it from a friend only made it worse. It meant she wasn't hiding it anywhere near as well as she thought. "Since the divorce, you've been working all the hours the gods send and cutting yourself off. You don't come out with us anymore, or even try to meet new people. You haven't for years. We hate seeing you miserable like this, Hopps, so I don't think you can blame us if we get our hopes up because of this."

It hurt hearing how much they cared. It hurt hearing the truth about how she isolated herself from everyone else. She had her reasons, but they only held up as long as she was the only one who suffered. It was unwelcome news that she was hurting her friends through her own obstinacy.

"Judy, what happened?"

"James started cheating because I ignored him. My job was more important than my marriage." Judy felt sick admitting it out loud. "The last thing he said to me was that I was married to my job long before I met him and I should have stayed with my first husband."

Clawhauser looked confused before asking, "So, you decided to prove him right?"

Judy couldn't believe her ears. "Excuse me?"

"It's what it sounds like. He was cruel to say that, even if he felt that way, but it wasn't true. Even if it was, it didn't excuse what he did. What I don't get is why you cut yourself off and became even more of a workaholic."

"Better that than another failed relationship!"

"Do you seriously believe that?"

Judy was hurt, furious and fighting tears. After the fact, she was glad the diner was mostly empty. "Yes, I believe that! Being alone and miserable is better than finding your husband in bed with another doe a week before your second anniversary! I loved him enough to marry him in the first place, but I didn't care enough about my mate to care about our relationship. I realized that after he left and then I knew it was a mistake to have married him at all; that I wasted three years on faking it."

The look of dawning comprehension on Clawhauser's face would have been comical under any other circumstances. "You've been trying to spare yourself the hurt of failure and everyone else the disappointment…"

"If I'm married to my job, I may as well go for broke."

"You're a fucking idiot, Judy."

"I know."

"You- what?" Her answer caught him completely off guard.

"I know, Clawhauser. It's stupid, but I don't know what else to do!"

"You're scared."

"I never want to feel like that again, Ben. I don't want to be alone, but I can't take that again."

"So, how does Wilde fit into this?"

"Ugh… " His tenacity was getting irritating. "He doesn't."

"It doesn't look that way."

"I know…" Judy groused. "I have no idea what his deal is."

"Are you sure he isn't interested in you like that?"

"Almost positive. Why?"

"Well… Just hear me out, ok? You're afraid of being hurt and you don't want to hurt anyone else. Aren't you getting ahead of yourself?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're thinking about the failure of a future relationship when you haven't even been on a date in years. Don't you think you should worry about finding a mate before you worry about losing one? You also don't have to assume it'll be the same way, again. Maybe it'll work out differently."

"That's more optimistic than I'm willing to be."

"Look, are you seeing Wilde again soon?"

Suddenly, Judy was very glad her ears had flopped behind her. She knew exactly how the cheetah would take her answer. "I'm meeting him at 7:00 tonight."

"Are you sure you aren't dating?"

"For fuck's sake, Clawhauser, yes!"

The cheetah hummed before replying. "You might want to give it a try. I know what you're going to say, but just try it. It's a date, not a wedding."

"It's not a date!"

Several hours and another dream-free nap later, Judy found herself completely at a loss. Nick had said 7:00, but not where, or how, or anything that could have given her any sort of clue. She didn't know if it was some weird magical BS, or if he would find her, but she was certain she would not be able to find him. The weird feeling of certainty from that morning was gone, as was the feeling of being led along towards him. In light of her luncheon conversation with Clawhauser the idea of being led to him by a thread was particularly uncomfortable.

Her discomfort did not stop her from getting her ears in a twist over it. She spent far too much time fretting about what to wear and far too much energy getting ready. More than once, she had to stop herself from reaching for the make-up case she kept in a drawer. Finally, she got angry with herself and made herself stop. This wasn't a date. It was a meeting with a strange acquaintance to get some answers. It was closer to work than anything social and she should dress accordingly. That didn't stop her from selecting a pair of her nicer jeans and a blouse that was practical, but still flattering. Almost as an afterthought, she added a small gold chain with an orange citrine pendant in the shape of a carrot. It was a little hokey, she had to admit; very carrot-farmer, but she'd gotten it as a gift from her parents on her twentieth birthday and it was one of the few pieces of jewelry she owned. For some reason, it felt right wearing it. She elected not to think about it any further.

When Judy was ready, she still had no idea what was happening, or where they were meeting. On a whim, she decided to leave it under the heading of The Fox's Problem and went to the corner coffee shop to wait. Half an hour later she had given up on the prick showing up and was getting ready to go for a walk before she ate, when he appeared.

Right behind her.

The full-on attack of nerves she'd buried earlier had earlier had morphed into a simmering irritation by the time she was ready to leave. When Nick walked up behind her and said hello, her first response was to all but leap out of her skin. Her second was to restrain the urge for violence she felt immediately upon her feet touching the ground, again. That restraint got a little easier when she saw the bags under his eyes and the slight labor of his breathing. If she were a betting mammal, she'd say he was tired. More like weary.

Not that she'd let his tardiness slide. "Wilde. You decided to show up."

"Yes. Sadly, I had a bit more to do today than I thought." He was breathless and a little distracted, but looked pleased. It worried her.

"A few unexpected things came up, huh?" She asked tentatively. She'd heard the excuse before. It was so cliché it was practically a classic.

"Nothing pleasant, I assure you, but I suspect you'll appreciate it. I've had a busy day preparing for this evening and I have something waiting for you at the Docks."

The fox's formal, oddly anachronistic speech confused her as did his weirdly excited tone. In her confusion, "Odd place for a date," slipped out of her mouth. Her eyes bugged and her jaw snapped shut. She cringed at what was to come; the inevitable joke at her expense, but it didn't. What did come surprised her.

"You are dressed for a date, but I thought you wanted answers." As he spoke, he started walking away, so Judy had to run to catch up.

"You bet your ass, I do. What did you mean you're a sorcerer? How does it work? What was with those dreams? Why am I getting the-"

As they passed through a park Nick cut in. "Easy, Fluff. Close the tap for moment. You'll get your answers, just let me ask a question first."

They scampered across the street against the light and paused to wait at the bus stop on the corner. "What question?"

"You're a cop. You serve and protect."

"That's two statements, Wilde, not a question."

"Well, aren't we feeling pedantic, tonight. Fine. My question is this: what do you serve and protect?"

"The city. We talked about this earlier."

"Briefly, yes." The fox raked his paws over his ears and scrubbed his face. As he sorted his thoughts, a bus rolled up and they were seated before he continued. "Carrots, when I told you what I am, you asked if it was like being an ancient druid. Embarrassingly, it is. Your job is to serve the inhabitants and civic machinery, deal with the morass of red tape and the citizens' complaints, enforce the everchanging laws and labor in the hopes you'll make a difference to the city. My job is similar. The difference is that I listen to the heart of the city and go where it needs me; where I can be of use. I answer to her."

"You make it sound like the city speaks to you."

"It does."

"You know that's crazy, right?" Judy sat uncomfortably in her seat. She didn't like this conversation happening where others might hear them. However, no one even seemed to notice them. They weren't being quiet enough not to be overheard, but there wasn't a single mammal that even registered their presence.

Nick smiled at her concerned glances around them and decided to lighten the mood a touch. "You can say that after the dreams?"

"No…" she replied reluctantly and looked hopefully at him, asking "You have them too?"

"That was how she started speaking to me. It's gotten a little easier since, but she's no clearer."

"Would you care to elaborate? You may be used to this, but I'm still on day one."

"Right, right. Sorry."

Nick gestured for her to head to the bus doors and pulled the stop chord. Once they were on pavement again, Judy noted they were in the Rainforest District and not far from the Docks. She was getting answers, but not really any that made her feel like she was closer to understanding anything. She was also getting irritated by the whole thing, almost itchy.

"Think of it this way, Fluff. You know a little of how the city is alive now, yes?" Judy nodded. "Now, is the city a mammal? No. Of course not. It's a living landscape. To use an old term, a genus loci; the spirit of the land. It doesn't think the same way we do, about anything. Time means something different, too. Therefore, naturally, there's a bit of trouble with communication."

"So… the city speaks to you in dreams?"

"Sometimes. You get used to hearing her in different ways over time. I took me close to four years to really get the hang of it. For example, how's that itch on your hip?"

Judy had been absentmindedly scratching at her hip for a while, but once her attention was called to it, she stopped. It didn't go away. It got worse as they walked. Very quickly, Judy found she had to fight in order to not scratch herself like she had fleas. Nick was amused. She was not. It only built as they moved until it was almost unbearable and then, they arrived.

The sun was low and the shadows were long. It made the atmosphere of the construction site both picturesque and a little creepy. If Judy had possessed any interest in photography, it would have made a great shot. As it was, she merely appreciated the view for a moment, while struggling to avoid scratching her leg, again.

"Why are we here, Wilde?"

"To answer your question, Judy." Nick was tired and knew what was about to happen would tax him further. The funny look she was giving him snapped him into realizing he'd used her name. Mentally, he slapped himself. This was not the time for personal touches. "You've been itchy since I collected you and you were nervous about being overheard on the bus here, but no one even noticed us." Nick looked directly at her. "No one noticed, because I hid us from their awareness. It's a simple cantrip you'll pick up in an afternoon. As to the itching, it's because you're connected to the city, now. That connection only gets stronger when you're with me. It will until you can maintain the synchrony without assistance."

"Well, now I know that, but what in the hells is making me itch?!"

Nick raised a paw and pointed at the construction site. "That."

Judy could feel her eye twitch. "Wilde, if this is some kind of hazing, or a joke, I will hurt you."

"Unnecessary threats, Carrots. Come on." Nick headed to the locked gate at the side of the construction yard and pulled out his keys. They were all uncut, but he had every make of key used in the city on his ring. He checked the padlock and chose a matching blank.

Judy had followed half-intending to tell him off before leaving, but seeing his keys made her attention snap into focus. She'd seen that set of worthless keys so many times and never understood what they were. She had assumed they were another weird quirk of his, or a lucky charm. No, she watched as he slipped the blank key into the lock and start muttering.

Nick liked this cantrip. It was simple, easy and useful. All he had to do was coax the blank key to take the shape that the lock knew. Getting the two pieces of metal to talk to each other was almost an afterthought, under normal circumstances. Today, when he was already tired, it was almost enough to make him break a sweat. The lock popping open sparked a gasp from behind him and he knew she was hooked. He also knew what she would say next.

"That's impossible." Nick rolled his eyes and waited for it. "That's also breaking and entering."

"Carrots, I'm trying to give you the answers you want." Nick barked. "Choose."

Judy was taken aback, both by his tone and his intensity. It was clear what he was asking. If she tried to pull the cop line, like her reflexes had just displayed, she'd likely find herself alone and with nothing to show for her evening's activities. Possibly, permanently. She hadn't meant to say anything. It had just slipped out. Seeing his reaction, understanding dawned. This wasn't a joke and it was certainly a turning point for her. It was also a chance to see beneath his mask. Nick had looked weary when they met at the coffee shop. It had obviously been a front. The fox was exhausted and forcing himself to keep going. He was impatient and a little angry, but there was desperation showing. He needed her to be something other than an officer.

Judy shook herself. It wasn't a lot to ask, but it felt like it. That realization made her feel a little sick. She just had to remember how to be not a cop and it was a real challenge for her. It was quite the reality check on how far she'd fallen.

Judy sighed. It wasn't as though any one would believe her, anyway.

"Sorry. Old habits." Nick responded with a raised eyebrow over his shoulder. Judy smiled embarrassedly and shrugged. "Left my badge at home."

"In your other pants?" Nick mockingly queried.

With an eyebrow quirk, Judy shot back, "The ones you saw me in this morning. You remember. Without a shirt?", and was gratified to see a light pink tinge bloom in his ears. It didn't last long, but the tension was broken.

"Quite a sight…" Now, it was her turn to blush.

"Alright, fox. Enough with the games."

"Come on, then."

Nick led her through the patches of light and shadow to a stairwell down to the basement. She followed without complaint or question, pausing only to pop on her iCarrot's flashlight. Frankly, it weirded him out, a little. He did keep an eye on her paws as the struggle not to scratch became closer and closer to overwhelming. He admired her willpower. There was hope, yet.

When they arrived at the foundation level, Nick stopped. The space was cavernous and populated only by support girders and a few hanging lamps. "Carrots, kill your light."

"It'll be pitch black and I don't have night vision, like you do."

"Trust me. You'll see as well as I can."

Judy was apprehensive, but figured one more hop of faith wouldn't hurt. She could always turn it back on. Once the light popped off, she couldn't help herself. "See? I can't."

Nicks voice drifted through the Dark like silk and shadow. "Just watch."

Judy's first impression was ghosts at the edge of her vision, before she realized it wasn't ghosts. Once, when she was a little girl, her grandfather had taken her up north with him on a fishing trip. One night, she stayed up late with him and they had watched the northern lights. Her memories of those ethereal ribbons dancing in the sky sprang to mind as she watched Nick work. These were not the soft lights of the Aurora Borealis. They were the pink, blue, green and caustic white of neon and incandescent light bulbs. Threads, sheets and drops of light pulled together in his palm and soon the room glowed bright enough for her to see like it was daylight.

Nick paused to enjoy the look of slack-jawed surprise on her face. It was like a kit's at a magic show. He allowed himself to think she was pretty when she wasn't frowning before shaking himself and lifting the ball of light over his head and sticking it to the closest support. "You'll learn this trick, too."

"Really?" Her innocence in that moment was enough to make him pause.

"Yes, Really. However, what we are here for it over here."

Judy followed him over a row and couldn't stop herself from scratching her leg furiously. "What is causing this?!"

Nick grabbed her paws and pointed at the floor nearby with his muzzle. "That."

Judy couldn't believe her ears, let alone her eyes. There was a crack in the foundation. That was it. She was a breath from yelling at the fox, when something connected in her head and seeing that crack doubled the itch. "That? Are you serious?"

"Very. That crack is what's causing the itches."

"Itches? So you feel it too?"

"Yes, but I have the training to ignore it."

"How nice for you. So how do we make it stop? It's driving me crazy!"

Her wiggling under the influence of the itching was cute, not that he'd dare say it out loud, just now. He was tempted to keep holding her paws, but he needed them for what he was about to do. Instead, he inhaled deeply and pinned her arms at her sides. He called up the calm of the Crystal Oasis in Sahara Square and blew it into her leg. She instantly stopped moving and goggled at him.

"Are you telling me you could have done that at any time?"

"Yes, but it only lasts a few moments. Now, stop squirming." Nick let her go and moved quickly over to the crack in the foundation. He spoke quickly and Judy didn't argue. "These foundations are cracked. The inventors and contractors know it. It's just a hairline fracture, so unless you know it's there, it's hared to find. Nothing will happen for two or three years. By then, this'll be a skyscraper full of offices and mammals. When this crack gives, it'll all come down, killing hundreds and damaging the whole area. The city will suffer, as will the populace."

"So we arrest them.", Judy's answer was immediate.

"With what proof? How did you get it? How can you prove their complicity?"

Judy bit her lip and grimaced. There was no way she could pull it off. Any method she chose as a cop, would fail. There wasn't enough actual evidence and she'd never get a search warrant. Even then, there was no guarantee that there was any proof that could link the mammals responsible to the crime. She caved. "OK. So what do we do?"

"This."

Nick strengthened his light before he did anything else. He'd need strong shadows, when he was done. Then, he reached out into the city and pulled. He forced the heat from the industrial complex furnaces into the concrete around the crack and then the cold from Tundratown's cold pumps. He pulled the force from locomotives and the iron cables and the pulleys from the construction crane above them. He pulled and pulled from the city and forced it all into himself.

Before Judy's astonished eyes, Nick began to change. His bones became steel girders and muscles became steel cable. His body burned with the fire of engines and smoke billowed from his mouth and nostrils. His carbon fiber fur glistened with motor oil as he sweated and his eyes blazed. He was monstrous. He was beautiful. She couldn't look away, even as he raised his steel and concrete fists and slammed them into the ground.

For a breath, nothing happened, but Judy knew something had changed. The itching that Nick had somehow blown off her was gone. Whatever he had done with his breath had blunted it, but now, it was gone entirely. All she felt was enormous relief. Then, she was terrified as the structure above them groaned loudly.

Nick chirped, "Whoops! Over did it!"

"Over did it? Over did what?"

"No time! Gotta go!"

Nick grabbed Judy's arm and pulled her along as he sprinted. He pulled his light sphere into a tighter configuration on the fly and leapt into the shadow it created just in time. When they stepped out of the shadow on the roof of a warehouse, they had a spectacular view of the destruction.

It started slow, but as they watched, the first eighteen stories and the base superstructure of another five or six shuddered. A cracking sound so deep they felt it in their stomachs boomed out from the site they had just vacated and the building came down. Judy watched in fascinated horror as tons of glass and metal slammed into the ground. Soon, nothing was visible but dust. She whirled on her companion in a bewildered fury, only to find him on his knees and panting hard.

Before she could untie her tongue, he grated out, "No one was hurt, Carrots. If there was, you'd feel it, like a sick bubbling in your gut." Judy watched the fox struggle, uncomprehending. "You asked how we help. After what's happened tonight, there will be an investigation. All records kept and all emails will be made available to the ZPD and Central Government Assessors Office. Mammals will be arrested, tried, maybe found guilty, but that isn't my concern."

Judy reflexively moved to help him as he wobbled to his feet. "How can you not be concerned? You just knocked over a building!"

"I serve the City, Hopps. The crimes of mammals are for mammals to address."

"And this mammal should arrest you for your crime."

The last of the tension bled out of him as he laughed. "And what would you put in your report? That one widdle foxie became an eldritch powerhouse and smote the building down? Anything you say can and will make you look insane to your coworkers. Do you want a psyche evaluation on your record?"

Nick chuckled as he staggered over to the stairwell, leaving her to come to terms with the situation. He was fairly sure she wouldn't try to arrest him. She was in shock and still dealing with the magnitude of her new situation. He leaned back against the stairwell door and waited for her to shake off her befuddlement. He just hoped it would be quick. He was tired and momentum was only carrying him so far.


	4. Chapter 3

Leaving the warehouse roof was a simple affair. Nick's keyring worked its simple magic on the stairwell door and then it was a matter of letting gravity do the work. Nick was intensely glad to let it. All he had to concentrate on was keeping his footing. Otherwise he'd fall instead of walk down the stairs and that would do nothing for his dignity.

It had taken his companion for the evening a few minutes, but eventually she calmed down. She didn't say anything, but the air no longer vibrated with her anxiety, fear and guilt. Instead, to Nick it seemed she was now considering what she had seen. There was curiosity billowing around her. A little excitement, too; wonder, curiosity and that tentative excitement the fox remembered only too well from his early days, when he was learning with Finnick.

The memory of his old friend and mentor saddened him a little, but not enough to squelch his satisfaction. He'd finally been able to deal with that damn itchy feeling and it had been worth it. Internally, Nick patted himself on the back for holding off as long as he had. Forcing the sensation into the background and keeping it there had been a chore, but oh so very worth it. He was not terribly adept at using foresight, or scrying, but his gamble on Judy waking up to the city had been worth it. He'd been heinously incorrect on the timeline, but that's scrying for you. It was worth the extra seven months of itching to finally show her what she could be.

Now, Nick had to play the role of the accommodating answer mammal. From her increased sense of focus and self-collection, she was accepting what happened and was getting close to speaking to him again. Once those flood gates opened, Nick knew there would be no end to the questions. Between her career and her dogged refusal to let anything go, she'd ask every single question under the sun and follow every line of inquiry until she was satisfied. She'd be an excellent student, once they got started.

It also pleased him to no end that there was no anger or hard edges to her. That meant no arrest would be forthcoming for his antics this evening. He breathed a deep sigh of relief when she finally turned his way and started walking. That was his cue to open the door and lead her down to the sidewalk.

They descended in silence. This was fine in the fox's opinion. It left more of his attention free for his balance. It also bough Judy some time. She'd gotten her mind wrapped around enough of what had happened to not freak out completely. In truth, she was feeling more than a little giddy, like a school kit who'd gotten away with a prank. Granted school pranks didn't usually knock over buildings and cost millions in damages, but that was a minor detail. When they arrived on the sidewalk, she stopped him from going further with her paw on his arm and rather nervously looked up at him.

"Am I under arrest, Officer Hopps?"

Judy's mouth quirked before she answered. "I told you my badge was at home. Remember?" She was glad for his humor, for once. It bled off a little of the tension.

"Just making sure, Carrots. You ok?"

"I'm... overwhelmed.", Judy stated.

"Understandable." He replied with a half-smile as he reached into his satchel. He pulled out a Beetleberry Protein Bar for himself and offered her a Carrot-Alfalfa energy bar. "Hungry?"

Judy was surprised at how hungry she was and gladly tucked in. "You always have rabbit food on you?"

"Just tonight. I figured you'd want a snack by now. Gods know I do." Nick's bar vanished quickly, followed by a second in short order.

"Hungry, Slick?"

"Just a bit," Nick replied as he licked the pads of his fingers clean. "Magic takes it out of you, especially big stuff, like that."

"I can believe it. Does it just make you hungry?"

"Mostly hungry and tired. Food helps, but most of what replenishes a mammal after major magic is rest. Normally, I wouldn't get much despite what I did, but I did more than I intended to buy myself a little leeway."

"Ok, hang on there a second. Can you break that down a little? There was a lot in there I didn't catch."

Nick laughed. Rubbing the back of his neck and roiling his shoulders, he headed down the street. In doing so, he completely missed the weasel. The destruction of the construction yard had drawn a crowd including a few members of a dockside gang. One of them, a mustelid, caught sight of red fur and terrible fashion sense down the road and seconds later had his phone in paw. Unaware of their observer, Nick and Judy walked away from the crowd and into the deepening night.

"Alright Carrots, let's start with why I'm so tired."

"Poor sleep habits?"

"You have no idea," the fox grumbled. "Basically, what I did back there took effort. The city helped me, but I had to contribute and actually _do_ the work."

"What do you mean you had to contribute? Was it just performing the…" Judy foundered. "Spell? Is that right?"

"Close enough for now." Nick said around a grin. "Let me put it this way. Have you ever heard of mana, or Qi, or energy? Anything like that?" Judy nodded dubiously. She wasn't very familiar with what her father had always called "new age nonsense", but at this point she was willing to suspend her disbelief. "Good. Whatever you want to call it, a sorcerer can run out of it, just like you can get tired after running for a long time."

"It's magic stamina?"

"If you like. The point is that you need it in order to make the connection and gain her help. If you don't have any left, you can't do magic."

Judy thought about it for a moment before responding. "I guess that makes sense. If it's like stamina, can you get more of it, or better at using it?"

"Yes to both, but it takes time and work. More important than that, however, is replenishing it."

"So, how do you do that? You said rest and food, but are there more ways?"

"Yes, but those are the big ones."

Judy suspected he was hiding something, until the silence led him to meet her eyes. Then, she was sure of it. Their eyes had only met for a second before he looked away, a bit startled. She may have been new to whatever this was, but she knew how to read mammals. The mammal next to her had a big fat neon sign over his head, blinking "awkward". If it got any worse, she'd have to sell him to a casino as a decoration.

Deciding to cut the evasion short, Judy stepped in front of him and stood. Suddenly, he was a good bit closer than she was expecting and, unless it was a trick of the light, a touch redder?

"So, what are the not-big ways to replenish yourself?"

Nick's flash of discomfort was smoothed under a smooth smile. "Isn't that a risqué turn of phrase for you, Carrots? I'll have you know, "not-big" does not apply, in my case."

Judy's expression flattened and she glared as she replied. "Listen, Wilde, if you were trying to cover something up with that, you failed. Now, I know you aren't telling me something. You're going to change that, or I will walk away and you can try again when I feel like putting up with juvenile sex jokes. I have taken a lot on faith tonight. It's time you returned the favor."

To her eyes, Nick looked taken aback. That and a little impressed, perhaps? In either case, the smirk melted away and the weariness bled back through. Judy felt a twinge of guilt, but it only lasted until Nick started to answer her.

"There are a few ways. Meditation is one. Crafting, or creating does, too. Basically, anything that brings joy into your life. A lot of sorcerers use their vocations, like teaching, or music.

Judy quirked an eyebrow. "And you felt uncomfortable about telling me that? I don't believe you. What's the rest of it?"

Nick sighed and rolled his neck before answering bashfully. "Well, those all help over time and meditation is the quickest, but it still takes time and practice to be effective. There is also a way to quickly replenish one's reserves to a point."

"And that is…?" Judy prompted with an impatient waving of her paw. "Any time, Wilde."

"Intimacy, Fluff. One of the most effective ways to recharge yourself is intimacy." Judy goggled and Nick pressed on. He had to get it out before his embarrassment caught up with him. "There are a lot of ways that can be done solo, but the fastest is with the help of another mammal."

"You mean with sex?" Judy realized she'd spoken far more loudly than she had intended and slapped her paws over her mouth, blushing like she hadn't done since she was a kit.

"You can, but that isn't what I said. I said intimacy and that's what I meant." Nick chortled around his own fluster.

"I don't understand." Judy managed, still embarrassedly hiding behind her paws.

"Intimacy isn't just sex, Carrots. Any form of affection will do wonders." Seeing how flustered she was, Nick took pity and kneeled to her eye level before continuing. "You know how when you hug someone you care about, you always feel better afterwards? More connected to them and sort of buoyant?"

Judy felt a pang of loneliness, but nodded. It had been ages since she'd had anything like intimacy with anyone. She hadn't even been home to the farm in ages. Nothing close to affection in sight.

Nick smiled. "That's what I mean. It's that shared connection and emotion. Trouble is, you need trust and openness to do it and you won't get that much out of it unless you genuinely mean it."

"And that will recharge you, or whatever?"

"Like I said, to a point. It depends on how open you are and how much you have to offer. Even holding paws with a mammal with a strong spirit and complete trust in you can basically take the place of a night's perfect rest." Judy's fist shot out and connected with his shoulder. "Ow! What was that for?"

"You chose the most embarrassing way possible to explain that, you twit!"

"Well, excuse me for feeling a little awkward about discussing intimacy with you." The fox retorted indignantly. "It's not a comfortable topic for casual conversation, Carrots, and after our conversation earlier, I was more than a little hesitant!"

"What conversation?"

"You said the Docks were a strange place for a date. It set a little of the tone for this evening."

Judy couldn't stop the laughter from bubbling out of her. "Oh, wow…"

"What?"

"The whole situation. "The tone for the evening.", you said. I think we're both tone deaf, after this."

"Officer Cottontail, that was possibly the worst joke I've heard all week." Nick blustered before joining her in laughing.

After the giggles had returned to manageable levels, Judy choked out, "We are so bad at this."

"Which part?"

"Let's go with "interpersonal relations" and leave it at that, for now."

"Alright." Nick said as he stood up and stretched. He turned and headed back down the street with her in tow. "It's all about being open, Carrots. To the city, to each other. We gain so much by opening ourselves to other sorcerers and Her."

"It sounds risky to me."

"It is. We are among the most powerful mammals in the city, depending on how you measure it, but we are vulnerable. We can bend the laws of reality to a point, but we are not invincible."

Judy mulled that over for a bit. "So, being open to each other lets you work together better, I assume."

Nick smiled down at her. "You assume correctly! Well done! The closer you are, or more intimately you trust each other, the more you share. That makes sorcerers excellent friends. Once the trust is there, you can synchronize sort of like you do with the city."

Now that the tension was broken again, Judy couldn't contain her curiosity. She was getting answers paw over fist and everything she learned made her want to know more. "So you can do more?"

"Oh so much." Nick scratched his chin, thinking. "It's like music. A duet is more than two voices. It always becomes more. All the emotion and intent pooled together becomes more than the sum of its parts. Years ago, there were two oxen sorcerers in the meadowlands. They were married for sixty years. Alone, each was potent in their own right, but together, they could stand against anything. Their bond was unshakable and it showed in their lives together as well as their magic."

She was fascinated. "What happened to them?"

"Maurice and Candace Flicktail died together in their sleep of extreme old age. Those two were together through everything, even death. Everyone who knew them envied that."

The slightly bitter, wistful note in Nick's voice struck her mute for a moment. It was clear something was bothering him. It wasn't until other sorcerers were mentioned that he started getting pained and mentioning intimacy was a sticking point for him. His envy of his married colleagues was painfully obvious, as was his loneliness. She was in the middle of following up on why he was so tired if there were so many ways to recharge when the roar of an overpowered car ruined her opportunity.

Judy knew in an instant that all was not well. Nick's expression had softened over time into showing a little of his true self and he wasn't hiding his exhaustion as much, but when he glanced up and saw the Furd Moustang at the next intersection his demeanor changed. His ears shot back against his head and his expression turned calculating, then fearful.

Nick knew exactly whose car it was. With the hideous paintjob it had, how could he mistake it? It was worse than Finnick's old van. He also knew that more were coming. They were probably already cutting off the area and any means they had of escape. He locked eyes with the driver, a shaggy and scarred wolf, for just a second and he knew he was in trouble. He was being hunted by an experienced master of the craft; one who had just gauged him as vulnerable. At that moment Nick was positive the rest of the gang was out and closing in. Rather than wait, or explain, he simply grabbed Judy's paw and ran.

There was nothing else that could be done. The Dock Reavers were a very exclusive gang, meaning they only took mammals who had done time for violent offenses. It was open to any mammal as long as they fulfilled that requirement and survived their initiation. One of their favorite pastimes was choosing a random mammal to hunt through the streets. It was a sadistic little game and always ended with a body in the river, if one was found at all. Nick had managed to get a few of the victims away from the hunting grounds and to safety, thus earning the ire of the gang. In those cases, whatever gang member was decided to have failed in the hunt ended up as the body in the river. Nick didn't feel sorry for them.

What he did feel was suddenly afraid not just for himself, but for Judy. Ordinarily, he would use some trick or other to buy himself an easy escape, but he was drained dry after working all day and what he'd done that evening. The most Nick could hope for now was buying enough time to hide Judy before he was caught. Then, he'd have to improvise. He felt strong guilt for letting her get mixed up in this and not a little irritation with himself for letting it happen. He'd been too pleased with his showing off at the construction site to maintain his usual wards. He was also too tired. His dereliction of basic disciplines could cost him his life.

That was fine. It was part of the job and he knew that. If he'd earned it by being so sloppy, that was his own damn fault and he'd have to deal with it. She had only accompanied him on a little adventure. She did not deserve the humiliating and painful end that was headed their way because of his negligence.

Without letting go of her paw, Nick led Judy through a maze of alleys and passages. The Docks were a lab-rat's maze and he knew it better than most. Sadly, the hunters knew them, too. Probably better than he did and they had numbers on their side. His one advantage was he still had his connection to the city and so he could find fast paths and he renewed the one ward he had the strength for with his last few sparks. It kept him aware of his pursuers and their positions.

As he ran, he managed a half-hearted walking meditation and gained enough power to pull another little trick. Pausing for just a second, he forced his mind to reach out and find the cockroaches in the district. It was a simple matter to borrow their senses and clearly locate each of the mammals hunting them. In his head, Nick mapped where they were and located their final goal. It only took a moment and before Judy could utter a word, he was pulling her along again.

He fled quickly to what had been chosen by the Reavers as the killing ground. They would take their time getting there for the main event, so they would have a little time. Nick needed all he could get. There, he stopped and let go of the rabbit's paw, focusing as much of his mind as he could on a meditation that would give him a little strength back. It would have gone more smoothly if Judy hadn't kept distracting him.

Breathlessly, Judy gasped, "What the hell was that?"

"That was a gang leader who really doesn't like me. Now, be quiet, so I can focus."

"Focus on what? You-" Judy paused. "You're trying to recharge yourself."

"Yes." Nick snarled. "It's our only chance to escape. Now, stop distracting me! We don't have much time!"

"Wait. I'm a cop. They wouldn't dare attack us if they know that."

"You identify yourself as an officer and it'll only encourage them." Nick groused with his eyes shut. "If they realize you're famous, even more so. These mammals would like the street cred and they don't care about jail time. Besides, didn't you leave your badge in your other pants?"

Judy gritted her teeth and barked, "So what do we do?" She knew there were mammals like that and wasn't naive enough to pretend otherwise.

"You hide and I deal with them."

"How? You're dead on your paws!"

"I have a silver tongue, Carrots. I'll talk my way out of it."

"You may be good, Wilde, but are you sure you'll walk away from this conversation unharmed?"

Nick gave up on meditating. "I said I'd talk my way out of it. I didn't say anything about walking afterwards."

"Then, that isn't happening." Judy understood what he was suggesting and was touched, but furious. She was not about to let him suffer to protect her. She was an officer of the law. It was her job to protect him! Only, she couldn't. Not in this case. He was the powerhouse and she couldn't even call for backup. They'd be dead before anyone got there. There was only one choice. "What do you need?"

"To do what, Carrots?" Nick asked, his voice thick with exasperation.

"Anything!" Judy shouted. "Any sorcery thing that'll get us out of this! Can't we walk through the shadows again or something?

"No. The shadows here are weak."

"You have got to be kidding me."

"Look around you." Nick gestured to the vacant lot. "There isn't enough light to really make shadows. It's all just muddy dark. You need a strong shadow to use as a doorway, therefore, you need light enough to make them. Besides, I'm spent, Carrots. I need to recharge before I can even do that and we don't have time."

"What about me?"

"What about you? You aren't trained to use magic yet, Fluff, and you're damn good in a fight, but not against more than forty violent offenders."

"I can recharge you."

Nick couldn't believe his ears. "You can what?"

"You said intimacy can share mana or whatever." Judy overrode her embarrassment in the face of probable death. "What do I have to do? Kiss you?"

The words leapt out of his muzzle before he registered he finished the half-joke in his own head. "Not on the first date."

"This isn't a date!"

"A hug will be plenty." Nick said quietly, embarrassed at his accidental quip.

"That's it?"

He kneeled and opened his arms. "Hug me like you've missed me and you mean it. That'll be enough."

Judy opted not to think and just threw her arms around his neck. It was hard for her, at first. She hadn't hugged anyone in ages. Also, she'd never hugged Nick, or even considered it before in all the years that she'd known him. That thought felt weird, as did the hug. Then, something clicked. Having someone's arms around her was something she'd missed for a long time. Later, she'd blame the dangerous situation, but in that moment, she let her emotions override her fears.

Against her better judgement and all expectations, she trusted him. Then it ran away with her. It had been so long since she had been close to anyone. Her hesitation lasted until she realized he wasn't holding back on his end, then it all changed. She let herself feel.

She felt safe and welcome; protected and cared for in his embrace. She missed affection. She missed the emotional support. She missed feeling like she mattered to someone other than herself. It had been so long since she let herself feel anything like that. The fact that he was worried for her before himself only fanned her emotions. Judy found herself nuzzling into his neck and hugging him for all she was worth, experiencing emotions she was sure she'd be uncomfortable with once the embrace ended. In the meantime, she enjoyed it the way a starving mammal would enjoy a feast.

Nick experienced a paralleling array of emotional and mental revelations, with two notable additions that took him by surprise. Most of it he was prepared for. He had experience with this, after all. It had been years, but he at least had something to help him. He was prepared for the initial rush and her hesitance. Then, he felt her open up to him and he had to hold on, or drown in the flood. All that he was prepared for. The first thing to surprise him was physiological. It had been a long time since he'd been that close to an attractive female. The earlier fractiousness and their discussion about intimacy had left a definite mark on his mindset ad it showed. He just hoped she didn't notice. The second was the intensity.

Nick hadn't lied when he said intimacy would share energy. He was intensely grateful he hadn't taken her up on the offer of a kiss as the medium. If she had kissed him, he wouldn't have been sensate afterwards, let alone able to fight. He had always known she burned bright, but good gods was that an understatement. The strength of her spirit was incredible, even beaten down as it was. Once Judy gave in and hugged him like she meant it, Nick felt like he was hit by a truck and plugged into the power grid at the same moment. She'd make an incredible sorcerer.

When she finally pulled away, she looked up at him uncertainly. He looked even wobblier than he had before the hug. "Nick? You ok?"

The fox shook himself a bit and answered. "Yeah. I'm, uh… a little drunk."

"What?!"

"Don't worry. I'm fine." Nick stood up and tried to regain his equilibrium. "I haven't had this much to work with in a long time. It's a hell of a rush."

"It worked then?" Judy asked nervously.

"Oh, gods, yes. I'm glad you didn't kiss me. I might have passed out." Seeing her wide-eyed expression, Nick smiled "I'm serious, Sweetheart. If you kiss like you hug, my fur would be sparking."

This was not the moment for this conversation. Never was probably the moment for it. Judy elected to banish the thought from her mind along with why her ears felt like they were on fire. "So we'll be ok?" She also didn't want to think about what his grin was hiding, now.

"Definitely."

Nick grabbed her paw and pulled her over to a darker corner of the lot. Planting her in a relatively clean spot of concreted, he rummaged in his bag and pulled out a piece of chalk. Judy watched in uncertainty as he quickly drew a rough circle around her.

"What are you doing?"

"Hiding you." So saying, Nick licked his finger and pressed it to the chalk markings. Judy felt a weird tingle like a static charge surround her. "There. Now, as long as you don't cross the line, you'll be safe. Let me deal with them."

"O-ok…" Judy stammered.

Judy was completely flummoxed and more than a little of her state was because of her own reactions. They had knocked over a building, already. Now they were being hunted for sport by a gang and, somehow, she was handling all that just fine. Yet, she was all flustered.

Why had she blushed? All she had done was hug him, so why had she gotten so short of breath? Why had she need to thrilled when he said a kiss would have knocked him for a loop?

She struggled to face it, but her reaction had been real. It also just had to be a reaction to the fact that she was deprived -self deprived, specifically- for too long that even that little would have gotten a reaction out of her. That had to be it. That also had to be the reason for her other reaction. It had only been a flight of fancy, but just for a heartbeat when he dragged her into the little corner she was in, she had thought he was finding a little privacy to find out if she _did_ kiss like she hugged.

Her juvenile mental tangent came to an abrupt halt when a small cavalcade of dirt-bags arrived. While she'd been meandering in her own head the fox had moved to the center of the lot and prepared himself. He looked the same to the casual eye; just a fox in an ugly shirt. To Judy, he looked different. It may have been the hug, or the madness of the day, or maybe she was getting more connected to the city, but she saw him glowing a little in the dim light. It was a nimbus surrounding him in a strange cheery light.

Nick felt like he could take on the world and win. He felt more alive than he had in years and he owed the rabbit for that. While she had been fussing in her own head, he had prepared a few nasty surprises for his guests. With Judy safely hidden and protected, he could cut loose a little. As the cars rolled in and the final players took their places, Nick smiled. He rechecked the connections he'd made and made sure of his spells. It'd be a little improv, but that was what he excelled at. He was ready.

At the last moment, Nick got one last little delight. He felt Judy testing the barrier he'd set up to hide her. Just a tentative finger-poke, trying to understand. It meant she was accepting and trying to learn. It was the cherry on top of his night. Now, he could enjoy himself fully.

The Reavers rolled into the lot full of confidence that they were in for a show. They knew this spot well. It was isolated, surrounded by high industrial buildings with few windows and chain-link fences. There was enough space for their cars and motorcycles with breathing room, while leaving a nice little arena under the fan of headlights. There was one entrance, so escape was almost impossible without fighting their way free. Usually, those were the terms of the game. Fight your way out and you were free, not that anyone had managed it.

As the gang leader strutted into the center of his stage, he was the picture of confidence. His prey was trapped. There was no way out except through him and his boys and that wasn't happening, tonight. The usual terms of win and go free weren't going to apply this time. The fox had ruined too many of his hunts. Now, he could enjoy a little vulpine pay-back and then worry about finding that worthless little rabbit that had been around earlier. The fox would be a quick end, but he'd take his time with the bunny. They had a reputation, after all. It was strange that she couldn't smell her, but it didn't matter. He wanted to play, but business first.

Nick smiled as the heavy fist headed his way. At the last moment, he snatched a pawful of volts from the electrical wires overhead and concentrated them in his forearm. When he blocked the punch, the electricity transferred and a wolf-shaped bullet slammed into the bumper of the vehicle behind him. Bone, flesh and metal gave under the force of the impact and the wolf went from gang leader to groaning pile of meat before he hit the ground.

That was when all hell broke loose.

Nick pulled the echoes of the harbor nearby and let them loose inside the cars. Everyone inside the vehicles was deafened as a dozens of foghorns blasted their eardrums. Several blacked out. The few who had already left the vehicles or arrived on bikes fought their disorientation and rushed the fox, but fell badly short. The fox was ready with short, sharp exhalations of the cooking vapors from the Pandatown hotpot shops, known to be some of the spiciest food in the city and worse than pepper spray in the eyes. A handful of thugs ended their evening, writhing in pain as their eyes and sinuses exploded into burning pain. The rest he engaged with a light touch, laced with voltage and a little help from the local wall art.

Judy watched in awe that was part horror, part fascination as the battle, or rout, ran its course. The fox was defending himself and protecting her. The gang members no doubt deserted what they were getting. She couldn't deny either of those facts, but she felt bad for the mammals on the receiving end of Wilde's ire. She also was itching to join him.

Since the hug, she'd understood a little of what he meant about feeling connected. She felt when he reached for echoes and lightening in the wires, or pulled twisted graffiti from the walls around him to use as weapons. She felt her fingers twitch, wanting to do it too. Seeing him fight with the city Herself on his side, she wanted to fight, too. The want became a hunger when he used a long piece of graffiti as a whip to distract a pair of lynx as a small homunculus of trash and paint charged across the ground and tackled them.

Suddenly, there wasn't a choice. A large arctic fox had skirted the chaos and was rushing Nick's back with a pipe. Judy didn't think. She snatched electricity from a capacitor overhead and sprinted to the assailant, releasing her paws into his side. He flew into another small canid who was just recovering from the peppers and they both went down to the sound of broken bones on concrete.

"Again!" Judy blinked and stared at Nick, who was yelling at her. "Again! Aim for the cars!"

"How?"

"Like you just did! Put a spin on it!"

"Spin?"

"Like a bullet!" Nick was struggling with another fox and, while he was holding his own, it was clear he was tiring. She watched as he pulled a mass of graffiti off a wall. He tossed some of it over his attacker like a net and set the rest on another thug headed his way, like a mass of angry eels. The tiredness showed even more after that. "Do it!"

Judy stopped thinking and snatched again, this time grabbing more. She could feel the electricity dancing across her fur. She tried to imagine a bullet like she'd been told, but all she could think of was her sidearm. It didn't fit for her. It seemed too real for the fantasy world she found herself in. Instead, she made her paw into a gun like she did as a child, playing cops and robbers. She aimed for one of the gaudiest cars and, on a whim, she said "bang". Lightening leapt from her paw and the car jumped twice her height as the tires popped and all the lightbulbs in the machine exploded.

The next thing Judy heard was Nick's voice saying, "Time to go!", before she was yanked to the side. Over her shoulder, she saw all the gang members were down except a huge, tattoo-covered rhino, who just happened to be charging them. She felt Nick pull electricity and tossed it over his shoulder, almost casually. He didn't hit their pursuer, but the sound of cars playing hopscotch followed her around the corner and down the alley. It turned out to be a dead end very quickly and the rhino was hot on their heels. Judy was sure they would be trampled or impaled as the massive pachyderm charged.

Nick, meanwhile, was perfectly calm. He was already summoning a wind that would safely carry them to the roof top. He was calm right up to telling Judy to hold on tight. She latched onto his chest like a terrified koala. Worse, she trusted him. The emotional load slammed into him and the power went from her to him to the wind at the speed of thought. In a mammoth blast of smog-laced air, they overshot the three-story rooftop by about a hundred times. They didn't have time even to yell, though they did hear a rhino's head meet a brick wall with an uncomfortable thump a heartbeat after their paws left the ground.

Now, Nick was not calm. Judy had doubled down on the koala imitation once she opened her eyes and was now holding onto him for dear life. He had to act fast. He had to get them down safely and soothe her enough that she didn't murder him as soon as they were at ground level. First, he had to get them down in one piece. Working around the terrified rabbit wasn't easy. She had kept her face buried in his chest after her panicked shriek and been shaking since. She was an impediment, but Nick got into his satchel. He pulled his little notebook out and watched as his pen flew off into the void. If that was the only thing he lost in this fall, he'd be lucky.

A quick glance around him showed a lot of paper and plastic bags had been kicked up by their little whirlwind. Ripping his notebook in half made it garbage and that was all the link he needed. Using it, he pulling together all the floating trash and debris. It was a challenge because of the distance and it wasn't his finest work, but a few moments later, he had what he needed. It was cobbled together and wouldn't last more than ten minutes, but that was plenty.

His one paw was occupied and the other was wrapped around the trembling rabbit, so he nuzzled her to get her attention. "Judy, if you keep your eyes closed, you'll miss the view."

Judy cracked an eye and couldn't believe her eyes. They were hanging over the city from a paraglider that looked part kite, part paper airplane and made of rubbish. She looked up at his smug grin and knew she was safe. She looked around and saw the city how only pilots, bats and avians did, as he steered them between buildings and spires. It was incredible.

All the more so for the company. Judy hadn't been one for being swept off her feet since she put her romance novels in the donation bin at the Bunnyburrow Public Library, years ago. She decided they were fantasies unworthy of her energies and just silly. Now, she had to admit they had their merits. She'd been swept off her feet more times in one evening than she'd ever thought possible. While that didn't mean she was ready to throw her virtue at his feet, like a bodice ripper heroine, she had to admit it was thrilling.

The descent was not long and the landing was not gentle. Nick cradled her as they finally landed, leaving him with a bump or two and her unscathed. They were both a bit dusty when they regained their feet. Judy was the first to get vertical and she was exhilarated. Nick was not so spry regaining his paws. Judy rushed to help him up and noticed for the first time how light he was. She also saw how his paws shook and breathing was fast and deep. As excited as she was from their little adventure, she had forgotten what she learned earlier this evening about magic. It took it out of you. Now that she remembered, she felt the first pangs of hunger and knew he must be ravenous.

Nick was almost bone dry as far as magic was concerned and he was already feeling the effects of overusing his abilities. He'd wake up with a headache _par excellence_ , but that was only to be expected of magic burn. He was running on adrenalin and once that bottomed out, so would he. He pulled an energy bar and checked the wrapper before handing it to Judy.

"Eat that, Carrots. It isn't much, but it'll hold you for the moment."

Judy tore the wrapper off and devoured hers as Nick followed suit. Around a mouthful of carrot-flavored bar, she asked, "Don't you need more than this?"

Nick chuckled and offered her another bar and swallowed his second before he answered. "Yes, but this will do for now. I'll get a good breakfast in the morning. Right now, I need to get someplace safe, so I can rest."

Judy was suddenly unsure of where the conversation, let alone herself, was going. "Um… So are we done? Am I going home, now?"

"You can if you want to, but I don't think you should." Now, she felt extra-uncomfortable and Nick didn't miss it. Turning fully to face her, he held his paws up, palms towards her and leaned back, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. "Not what you think, rabbit. Your virtue is safe with me."

"Then, what did you mean?"

"Do you feel that little twinge around your temple?" Judy nodded. "That's called magic burn. It's a lesson for first time sorcerers and a punishment for the experienced. It'll hit you in the morning and I think it'd be best if I guide you through it."

All this sounded reasonable to her, but she was also very curious. "Alright, I guess, but how is it a punishment?"

"It's like a hangover. You're going to get a mild one because you used your magic for the first time. It's a rite of passage and a growing pain for anyone who wants to use magic. For the veteran sorcerer, it's a clear indicator that you used too much power. It reminds you that you have limits and you should respect them."

"Will you have one tomorrow?"

"Like you wouldn't believe. I earned one before we met. After this evening, I'll be a wreck. I'll feel like the construction site happened between my ears, in the morning."

Judy was aghast. "Then, why would you do that?!"

"No choice." Nick knew he had to give her more from the irate drumming of her foot. "Carrots, I get magic burn every day and I have for years. It's unavoidable in my case."

"What? Of course, you have a choice! Why would you do that to yourself?"

Nick felt the shakes starting. He bent to grab a piece of clean-ish paper off the ground and headed to a nearby brick wall. Luckily, his chalk was still in his bag and he drew as he answered her. "Carrots, I am the only sorcerer left in the city. That's why. She needs me and I can't stop doing my part just because I'm tired."

Judy listened and watched as a doorway of chalk slowly took shape. It was very specific and very clear, despite being chalk on brick. She knew there was some significance to that, but couldn't bring herself to ask. It would have to wait a little bit.

Nick was quickly weakening. "Judy, I promise I'll explain, but I need to get home before I get too tired. If you're afraid of me pouncing on you, by now you know how weak I am. I'm not a threat to you."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's a healthy concern to have, for a young lady like you."

Judy fought the heat in her cheeks and tried not to smile too much at his attempt at breaking the tension. "What do you need me to do?"

"Come with me." So saying, Nick put the paper he carried against the door and used his claw to trace a symbol on it. He inhaled deeply and thought of all the things he considered home. Then, he exhaled and the symbol burned on the paper. Nick pushed on the chalk door and it opened. Judy nervously followed the fox through the doorway and into the dark.

Light popped on and the rabbit almost jumped out of her skin for at least the seventh time that night. The fox was standing by a floor lamp in a grimy room that smelled of earth and neglect. The door they had come through was gone. Behind her was a wooden door so old it could have been in a museum, or possibly a spray-cleaner advertisement.

His den, because she had no other word for it, was one room. It was low-ceilinged and cramped with pipes and air ducts covering almost the entire ceiling. It was cozy, she supposed, but spartan. Only a cot, an old recliner too big for a fox, a few boxes with clothes spilling out of them could be seen by her before the fox pulled a curtain, isolating what she supposed was the bedroom. The main room had little else in it. A hippo-sized vanity with no legs that was used for storage, that still had the mirror attached sat in a corner and that was it. The kitchen was a hotplate and electric kettle, next to an ancient mini-fridge and a slop sink. She'd seen better outfitted college dorms.

"Welcome to my home."

"Oh! It's uh…"

"A dump. I know. I'm not here much. Just to sleep." Nick took pity on the confused female and flopped into his chair. "You asked what I needed you to do. That's simple." He hated how vulnerable this was going to make him sound, but he needed it. "Please, Judy, just stay here with me tonight."

"Nick?"

"I'm tired, Fluff. It's been a long time since I felt safe and now that you're here, I can't help myself. I feel safe with you and…" His embarrassment finally outweighed his neediness and he backpedaled. "I'm sorry. Forget I asked. Let's get you home."

"I'll stay." The words were our before she thought. Before she could regret them, the look on his face confirmed that it was the right answer.

"You will?"

"Yes, but I want something in return."

"What do you want?"

"You've talked about other sorcerers, and how you're the only one left. Can you tell me more about that?"

"I promised you answers." Nick felt a lump form in his throat. He hated how melancholy this day was turning out. "I can, but please, not tonight. I promise you I will in the morning, but now…"

Judy felt terrible and rushed to tell him it was ok and she'd wait, but he insisted she get something. She hated herself for trying to use the opportunity to get more answers out of him, but now she was hooked as much as he was. She decided on something she hoped would be a little less painful for him.

"Then, can you tell me how you chose me?"

"Alright, I'll tell you that one. First, can you make some tea, while I change into something less grimy? I'll get you something too."

"You aren't getting a nighty for me or something inappropriate, I hope.", she deadpanned, hoping to lighten the mood. She was relieved when he smiled weakly.

"Much as I think you'd look stunning in one, no. Haven't got any. I'll see about fixing that, when I get a chance." He quipped from behind the curtain. Before Judy could get indignant, the fox continued, "Just ruffling your fur, Carrots. It'll be a t-shirt and probably a pair of shorts. Does that work?"

"I suppose, but if you try anything cute, I'll have your ass!"

"Cute is your department. Back in a moment!"

Giving up on being upset at the C-word for the moment, she asked, "Where's the tea?"

"Bottom shelf over the kettle."

Judy made her way to the meager kitchen and got to work, but not without having a little snoop around. She was sniffing the tea when Nick walked up behind her, startling her. He made a quip about it being contraband-free before relieving her of tea-making duty and handing over a set of clothes. Once she was inside them, she felt like a kit wearing her parent's clothes. Dignified, it was not, but it was comfortable. Upon her return, she was handed a mug of warm tea and gestured to sit on the cot, while the fox sat on his chair. They were close enough that their knees were almost touching.

Sipping his tea, the fox began. "You want to know how I chose you. The fact is, I didn't. The city did."

"Don't you know who your destined student or whatever is?"

"No. Remember we talked about that little communication problem?" Judy nodded. "Until I met you, all I knew was I was looking for a female, something about the colors blue and purple and they have a shield, whoever they were."

"Are you seriously telling me that's all you got?"

"Yep."

"How did that give you Francine and then me?"

"Educated guesswork." Nick said after a swallow. "I went with shield meaning badge and blue for police uniforms. It gave me a base to start from." Noticing her incredulous look, he added, "It was that or a cosplay convention."

Judy laughed. "Ok... what about the rest?"

"Well, you're both female."

"Impressive observation, Slick. How does purple fit in?"

"Francine's favorite color."

"Ok, so you chose me because I was a lucky 50% gamble on the female thing, I've got a shield and wore blue. It's also my favorite color, just in case that matters." Nick chortled and waited. "But what does purple have to do with me? It's not my favorite color and I rarely wear it."

"Oh, Carrots... it may not be your favorite color, but is been mine for years, now. The most beautiful color there is. "

"Is that what matters? Did your preference for it dictate that requirement?"

"Not at all! My preferences had nothing whatsoever to do with it."

"Can't you just answer my question?"

In response, Nick lifted a weary paw to her face. He tilted her chin up to look him in the eyes and his thumb lightly rolled over her cheek. Judy felt like she was in free fall all over again. "Just look in the mirror, silly rabbit. That's why."

Judy pushed his paw away without any real force and stutter stepped back a couple paces. The fox didn't move. Instead, he smiled and with a tired chuckle pointed up at the mirror over his improvised desk, after setting his mug on the floor by his foot. By the time she looked back a moment later, he was curled up on the seat and still, breathing the deep rhythm of sleep.

Her frustration peaked and ebbed away. She was glad he was sleeping. He needed it. However, it left her alone with yet another puzzle. She also had the answer, she thought wryly.

Hoping that it wasn't some kind of novelty trick mirror, Judy climbed onto the desk chair and addressed the mirror. She checked the frame and stand, the glass. Everything. It seemed to be just what it looked like: an old, bear up vanity mirror. Probably scavenged from a junk pile, or thrift shop. Once she satisfied herself that there was nothing abnormal about it, she finally looked into it.

She saw herself.

She looked a bit grimier than she liked, especially considering she'd dressed up a bit, that evening. Her fur was a bit of a mess. Sitting on the chair, her nice pink blouse had some dust and odd stains on it and her jeans were worse off, but both garments would be fine with a good laundering. Her pendant was clean, however, and sparkled in the low light. She looked like she had after her last harvest festival at home, when she was twenty-three; Nice clothes in need of laundering, baggy sleepwear, glinting necklace. It was a comforting parallel.

The memory amused her, but did not help her understand. There wasn't anything purple about her. Her clothes, borrowed or otherwise. Not even a bruise.

She felt a momentary drop of guilt at the reason why she didn't. She owed the fox for taking the impact at landing. He'd been unexpectedly chivalrous in doing that, and as far as Judy was concerned completely cryptic since. What was there about her that was purple? It had to be staring her in the face. Then, it clicked and feeling stupid for missing the obvious went to war with the rest of her emotions over who had the right to freak her out first.

It was her eyes.

Her breath caught and her heart was suddenly running wind-sprints. No one had complimented her like that in ages, let alone so skillfully. It reminded Judy of a lot of things she'd rather stay forgotten. It also made her feel good about herself. She didn't know how to interpret the compliment. If she followed the fox's convoluted clues, it was her eyes that made him love the color. What that said about his taste made her grit her teeth.

Nick's words pulled up all the boiling resentment and self-image issues she'd had with her eyes. Her whole life, they'd been unusual and drawn attention. Childhood teasing, a little bullying, then curiosity, flirting and finally bad attempts at seduction, as she'd aged from a kit to an adult. Her eyes had been the focal point of a lot of male's attention over the years. Lots of pretty compliments, all designed to get her out of her clothes. It had been painfully obvious. Judy also felt no small stab of bitterness to recall that James had been one of those males. Now, she was reminded of all that. The associations she couldn't escape.

And yet...

There was also sweetness in the bitter. Yes, it was trite and cliché to compliment a female's eyes. The oldest trick in the book, practically. Nick, though, hadn't had any of the usual smarminess, or obsequious pandering such things usually came with. He'd sounded sincere. If she was honest, he couldn't have been anything else. He was too tired to feign charm. The compliment was genuine, as were his sentiments.

The realization hit Judy like a ton of bricks.

She didn't dare assume he meant anything but a small statement of fact, but the fact it was her eyes that made him love the color was something a little too potent to ignore. Now, she had something else to interrogate him about when he woke up. The list was getting fairly long. She'd have to prioritize. To the rabbit's distress, she had to fight herself not to put her eyes at the top of the list.

Judy climbed down from the vanity and took a moment to study the fox. She didn't like doing it for long. It felt too stalker-ish for her tastes, but it was important. She'd never taken the opportunity to do more than glance, but she had suspicions to confirm.

He looked thin, even for a lean fox. His exhaustion had been obvious the entire evening, but as she watched, tremors plagued his limbs. That only happened when someone pushed themselves too hard for too long. She'd experienced it during her time on the farm and at the Academy. It usually kept her awake. The fact that he slept through it only told her how tired he really was.

She felt for him. She also felt confused in ways she thought she left behind with high school.

There were a lot of things she needed to ask him about in the morning: the mysterious other sorcerers he'd mentioned and why they were gone, how he had gotten to this state, what he had been before, why it had been eight years since they met and now all this. The list was pretty damn long already and she knew she'd have more questions by the end than answers.

They could all wait.

Judy couldn't take seeing him shiver in his sleep and in a bid to sooth him, ran her paw down his arm. For a moment, the tremors slowed and he seemed to rest easier, so she did it again. Soon, she abandoned any pretense and moved to squeeze herself onto the seat of the large chair next to him, so she could continue soothing him. She didn't know why. She just did.

As her own consciousness faded, she thought how strange it was that she felt so comfortable. He was probably as lonely as she was and overworked to boot. It was too easy to relate to him. Regardless of the phenomenal things she had seen him do, he was also a weak, vulnerable mammal who needed help and trusted her enough to bring her to his home. It was one more thing she would have to add to the list.

And maybe, just maybe, she'd allow herself to ask him about her eyes.


	5. Chapter 4

An update! Holy Monkey, is it had getting to a new schedule. It's a work in progress, but all I can do for the moment is post what I can, when I can. I hope you'll bear with me. Thank you for your tolerance.

* * *

Nick woke to his usual morning magic burn. Only this time he was pretty sure his skull actually was splitting by millimeters. Accompanying the usual pain was a delightful collection of bumps, bruises, scrapes and aches, all over his body. Even his paw pads were lightly singed from throwing electricity around too much. It took him a minute to remember why he was in such sorry shape.

A heavy day of work all over the city, followed by a major transformation spell, a brawl with the Reavers, the by-the-seat-of-your-pants enchantment in mid-air and creating a gateway home. It was enough for a week's worth of magic burn. If it hadn't been for that infusion via hug he'd be bedridden for days, assuming the city let him get away with that much down time. He'd worked through magic burn that serious once or twice, but it was a loathsome experience. He would rather spend a night in a cement mixer filled with rusty razor blades and lemon juice than do that ever again. In that vein, he owed Judy a massive thank you. The prospect of taking her to dinner flitted through his semi-soporific mind and the desire to slip back into dreams grew stronger.

He needed to get up. There was too much for him to do, but he had no desire to move. In the face of his exceptional collection of aches, pains, pulls and a spectacular headache, he wanted nothing more than to keep his dreams going a little longer. He was blissfully and unbearably comfortable. It took him a while to understand why.

Nick was not a morning mammal, so waking was usually a chore, in his book. He was always looking for excuses to not get there, yet. In this case, he drifted in the grey space between dreams and waking, mulling over his comfort. By rights, he should be in agony and irretrievably drawn to the remedies he kept for his many woes. Instead, he felt his physical pains, but not the usual emotional distress that came with the Burn.

Just like any high from a rollercoaster ride's adrenaline rush to a wild night out on the town, the day after there would be consequences. Sorcery tapped into every aspect of its user; mental, emotional, physical and spiritual. It carried with it an enormous high and an intoxicating feeling of power and control, but afterwards, there was a drop. After a usual day, a sorcerer could expect to feel drained and satisfied, waking the following morning to a need for coffee and a good meal. Overuse, on the other hand, would cause pains in equal measure. Nick was used to suffering the physical aches and mental fatigue. It was a matter of stubbornness to power through such things, in his experience. He was good at stubborn. It was the spiritual and emotional price that was the worst for him, but this morning they were blunted; almost soothed. He allowed himself to swim a little further towards the surface of his mind as he rooted through his fractured memories of the previous day.

The last thing he remembered was being a monumental idiot of the sentimentalist variety. Then, a feeling of safety and a moment of maudlin vulnerability led him to do something that most would consider a romantic gesture. Others might call it cryptic and irritating, most notably the rabbit. In truth, it was a mistake. Emotional entanglements were not wise, especially where magic was concerned. Judy had not yet made her Choice, let alone apprenticed. Once she made her decision, then and only then could he perhaps test those waters, but that was a Choice and a long time from now, at best. That didn't stop him from remembering the softness of her cheek under his palm.

Nick sighed. He wanted to settle back into sleep and dream of a beautiful female stroking his ears again, but he had to get up. There was work to do. His dreams and hopes would wait. They had for thirteen years, after all. He finally opened his eyes to see the sleeping face of the same beautiful female and he realized that dreams can come true.

He nearly fainted.

Instead of hyperventilating, or blacking out, he very carefully lifted his head from her lap after gently removing her paws from his cheek and between his ears. He moved as quickly and silently as he could to the slop sink. He couldn't risk the noise of the taps waking her, so he poured a meager bit from the electric kettle into his paw. Normally, he could just stick his head under the tap, or fill the sink, but now he had to be moderately discrete so as not to wake his guest. He pulled a small vial from the shelf next to his tea and sprinkled a bit of the powder from it into his palm with the water. The water took on a sheen like a golden oil slick and glowed weakly. He rubbed briskly between his palms and then raked them over his face and ears to the back of his head. The headache faded a touch; enough for him to be functional as more than a flustered, headache-riddled twit. That completed, he put the kettle on and readied some tea with another dash of the same pinkish powder. As he worked, preparing for the day, the aroma of his morning tea worked its mundane magic.

Judy stirred from a deep, restful sleep and was smiling as she woke. She had dreamed of the city again, but without the ham-fisted feeling from the other day. She didn't feel like she had been on the receiving end of a used car salesman convention all night. The dreams were softer; less pushy and more cajoling. She saw what she could only assume was the past. Many mammals working together or singly, casting spells and tapping into the city; living lives steeped in magic and memory. Judy dreamt of working together and alone to a common goal; fostering a sense of community, supporting the weak, encouraging growth and stability.

She woke with the memory of feeling strong arms around her and a sense of trust earned, unsure if it was a dream or not. It was a gentle, rejuvenating way to wake up. That was, until the sledgehammer met the gong between her ears. The world was full of bad memories of her college days and everything was humming like she was standing too close to a power box. Her groaning got the attention of her host. He sounded surprisingly concerned, almost wary. It almost sounded like he was doing a demonstration on talking down a distressed, or agitated mammal from one of her police trainings.

"Carrots? You ok?"

"Aside from the earthquake in my skull, I'm fine. Thanks. How are you?" She replied acerbically. "What is that sound? Do you have bad wiring around here or something?"

"Carrots?"

"Don't call me that! My head hurts too much for your stupid nicknames, right now," she grumbled as she rubbed her aching temples.

Nick willed his voice to be deep and soothing. He needed her to listen and not electrocute him. "Judy, please listen to me. I need you to stay still and look at me."

Now, she was afraid. She was either sitting on a bomb, or right underneath a spider. She hated those things. The very idea of it made her freeze in place. "What's wrong?"

"Judy, do not move. Please, just look at me."

She did.

His eyes were calm and gentle, but pinned her in place. There was a lot of emotion in those eyes, but none of them had a word in her now-addled brain. She didn't move or flinch as his paws slowly reached out to cup her face. The feeling of them was indescribable. Where they touched, the tension seemed to evaporate right off her fur. As his thumbs slid back over her cheekbones the rest of his paws moved to meet at the back of her head and slide up. Her eyes rolled up into her head in pleasure as he made his way up her skull to the base of her ears, his thumbs tracing over her eye-brows. She had to fight not to moan as the tension bleeding off battled it out with the caressing of her ears for which felt better. The tautness in her skin and fur sloughed off like he was brushing out her fur during shedding season, while the feeling of paws on her ears was a borderline erotic experience she hadn't had in years.

As his paws traveled higher, the more intense both sensations were and she felt her back arch in response. Her jaw was slack and small grey paws grappled onto the fabric of the chair. It was only through a supreme act of willpower that she didn't add a vocal soundtrack.

An eternity of racing heartbeats later his paw pads left the tips of her ears and she slumped back onto her seat, breathing like she just ran a marathon. She blearily looked up at him as her nerves settled. He appeared to be almost as breathless and equally flustered, so she didn't feel an instant urge to thrash him. Then she noticed the crackling rope of electricity dancing between his pinched fingers.

"Sorry, Carrots. I figured it would be better for me to take care of this before you accidentally zorched one of us."

Judy stammered, "Wha- What is that?"

"This, little bunny, is the ambient charge you picked up in your sleep."

"I what?"

"You collected electricity from the wires while you slept. Pretty impressive, actually."

"Wait. I did magic while I was unconscious?"

"Only a little bit."

"You call that a little bit?"

"Alright, more than a little."

"Is that normal?"

"For a fledgling sorcerer? Yes, but this is a larger scale than I'm familiar with. You could go to the Museum of Physical & Natural Sciences and be a display in the electricity section."

Seeing him joke, Judy felt a little less freaked out. "Har har."

"I mean it. With those ears, you make an amazing arc ladder," Nick commented as he coiled the electric thread into a ball and tossed it back into the wires.

"Seriously? Physics jokes?"

"Would you rather hear the one about batteries and bunnies?"

"Which one? Any of them will get you bruised, so choose wisely."

"Ah, Carrots, it is so _energizing_ to be around such a delightful _bunny_. Such a charming and ladylike demeanor that just keeps _going and going_."

"I can show Ladylike where she can kiss," she huffed as she felt the headache bloom, again.

"Well, isn't somebunny feeling sassy this morning? _Shocking_."

Judy couldn't help the giggle. "Enough with the jokes. I smell something tasty."

"Allow me to take _charge_. Here." Nick said, handing her a tin cup of tea he'd poured previously. "It'll take the edge off the headache."

As they changed clothes on opposite sides of the curtain, Judy asked. "That's the magic burn you mentioned last night, I take it?"

"It is indeed. The tea helps, as will a few cantrips you can learn. However, the best thing for magic hangover is the same thing that helps regular hangovers."

"Aspirin, water and food?" she asked, eagerly. Her stomach growled in anticipation of a meal.

"Precisely. Come on. Breakfast awaits."

Judy downed the rest of her cup and followed her host as he led the way out of the room. The hallway and stairwell were as unprepossessing as the room they'd left. Everything was shabby, weathered and covered in a patina of dust. The poor lighting only added to the feeling of abandonment and neglect. When she exited the building on Nick's heels she understood why everything looked like permanent gloaming. She was in the Nocturnal District. It didn't surprise her after all the other strange events of late, but it still made her pause and just absorb the situation for a moment.

Nick smiled at her. She was adapting well. "Come on, Carrots. Hurry up or we'll miss our ride."

"Our what?"

The only response she got was a chuckle.

Nick led the way through a well-kept slum. It was clear the residents of the area still took pride in their home, but without the money to improve it or pay for repairs there was only so much that could be done. The streets were clean and the few mammals they passed were mannerly to a fault. That did not hide the crumbling buildings or vacant shop fronts. It was a sad, peaceful place; almost reverent. When they were passing the graveyard, Judy couldn't help but pause.

Judy had felt a little off since she woke up.

That was a massive understatement. Waking up in a strange place with memories from the night before would be enough to throw her badly at the best of times. Waking up with the additional headache immediately followed by a heavily disorienting erotic experience and confirmation that the evening before wasn't a dream left her sense of reality a little skewed. She liked to think she was a tough cookie and she was by all accounts, but there was something about the frequency of these little snippets of surreality that kept her from really finding her equilibrium.

Since waking, she had felt like there were ghosts or phantom lights dancing at the edge of her vision. When they reached the gate to the cemetery there was nothing dancing at the edge of Judy's sight. They were dancing right out in the open. Ethereal forms and silhouettes moved through the space beyond the ancient wrought iron gate; figures dancing in mist and candlelight. Judy was half convinced that tea she'd drank was spiked.

"Nick?"

Seeing her confusion, Nick was quick to soothe her. "Don't worry, Carrots. It's just a Memoria."

"A what?"

"Memories collected together from a space. Usually happens in places that have seen better days. Think of it like concentrated nostalgia." Nick looked back down the street they had just walked down. "This used to be a bustling neighborhood, twenty years ago. Now, it's a relic." Turning back to her, Nick asked, "Wanna see?"

Judy didn't remember nodding, but saw Nick's smile widen.

Nick reached into his satchel and rooted around until he found his church key. It was a mangled hunk of iron so old it should have lost the battle to rust ages ago. It was a supremely useful tool in some respects, though Finnick had used it mainly as a bottle opener before passing it to Nick. It was part of the price for its use that Nick remembered the previous owner. The magic required memory to work and Nick had plenty to offer.

Judy watched as a flurry of emotions flickered across Nick's face as he tapped on the gate with the key. It swung open soundlessly, but rusted hinges echoed in the mind as they swung. The fox slipped the key into the air where the gate had been and neatly turned it. A click that rippled through the world at the base of her senses. Her equilibrium swam and she grabbed the fox's arm for support as she followed him across the threshold. She was shaking off the disorienting effects when she realized she was dressed very differently than she had been moments ago.

Nick enjoyed her perplexed expression as she took in the formal daywear and bonnet she wore. It was an ensemble from a century ago and it was absolutely not her style, but it did look good on her, he had to admit, bustle and all.

Once she shook off her perplexity and hastily removed her paw from Nick's arm, Judy finally got around to asking, "What is this?"

"This, Carrots, is a Memoria," he said as he lifted her paw to his arm. "We are walking through a memory of the city." Reflexively, Judy hooked her paw through his elbow and Nick led her off.

The promenade was not long, but it felt that way to Judy. Time felt superfluous and tremendously weighty at the same time. As they walked, their appearances changed to suit their fleeting environments. The place stayed mostly the same, the very street they had arrived on for a majority of their walk, but they were not always there. Other streets, parks, and alleys flitted by and the decades were changeable as mist in wind.

The world was slightly whitewashed, but otherwise looked entirely genuine. They seemed to meander through different times and places. As they stepped from one into another, their clothes changed, as did the sights and sounds. Buildings came and went, as did parks, carriages, cars and fashions. For a moment, they were one of many couples out for a constitutional on a weekend afternoon; kits of all shapes and sizes laughed and scampered about, echoing laughter following them like a trail. At another moment, a barbershop quartet serenaded an elderly stoat couple as they sat on a bench in the nearby park, watching a fountain. A few steps later, the park was a university square. They were garbed in tie-dye and hemp, while a protest echoed through the streets. A few moments later Nick sported a green and blue mohawk over a faux-leather jacket covered in spikes while she wore leggings and a shirt designed to leave one shoulder bare at all times.

Finally, they stepped out of the past and back onto the dingy street. As the last shreds of memory drifted off them like tendrils of smoke, Judy shivered.

"You don't look so hot, Fluff. You ok?"

Judy heard the words, but was at a loss as to how she should answer. On the one paw, everything she had seen had been intoxicating in a way only found in fairy stories. On the other, it was astonishing and a lot to take. To see so much and know there was more out there waiting both frightened and drew her in. It spurred her to ask a question that she regretted from the night before, but now needed answered, badly. She knew it would hurt him, but she needed to know the truth before she was completely swept away.

"Why are you the only sorcerer in the city? What happened to the others?"

Nick's tentative smile faded to a sad quirking of his lips. "I did promise you, didn't I?"

"I know it hurts you and I wouldn't ask, but this is too much. I need answers, Wilde."

"And you deserve them."

Nick scratched his ears. It was a tick Judy was learning to recognize. He was feeling insecure. That much was transparent. What Judy couldn't grasp was why.

Nick rubbed his paws together, working himself up to finally tell her a few more secrets. It was time to test her. If she didn't run screaming, there was a chance things wouldn't end up so badly. "Judy, based on what you've seen and what I've said, what do you think I do?"

"No idea. You claim to serve the city, but I can't even begin to guess what that could mean, after everything I've seen in the last day."

"A fair answer," the fox replied morosely.

Judy knew it was the wrong answer. She watched his anxiety build. He at a was loss. It was very strange seeing the usually confident vulpine so stripped of his confidence. She told herself afterwards that it was taking pity on him, but something about his vulnerability hurt. She couldn't let it continue. "I do know a few things about you, though." Another mistake.

A flush of relief preceded his mask snapping back into place. "I know I'm irresistible, Carrots. You don't have to tell me."

Judy was caught off guard for a moment. Something just happened and she did not like it. He went from frightened and insecure to typical him in a heartbeat. She did not like being deceived, even if it was necessary for him to feel safe. She needed to strike a balance that would leave him open enough to talk, but comfortable enough to keep going. Humor seemed to work for him, so why not on him, as well? "I know you tend to be cryptic and have a weird appreciation for wall art, for a start."

Nick guffawed and felt better for the lessened tension. Striding off, he replied, "Anything else?"

Judy hurried alongside him. "Well, you use magic to moonlight as a demolitionist and take on gangs. You're unexpectedly chivalrous. You certainly make a decent pilot, even if it's flying a paper airplane."

"Ok, how about an answer that isn't overt flattery?"

"You like to show off a lot."

"I didn't think it was _that_ obvious." Nick groused around a smirk.

"It is." Judy said with a sad smile. "It's also obvious that you are very unsure of how to handle this."

Nick stopped as he felt her paw on his arm. "Alright, Fluff. You win. I'm at a loss because I don't want to scare you off and trust me, this topic might just do it."

"I'm not afraid, Nick."

"That may well change in a few moments, sweetheart." So saying, Nick stopped in front of a large, decrepit service elevator that connected the Nocturnal District to the surface. It was rusted shut and hazard tape covered the whole structure. He didn't even pause for dramatic effect. Reaching out, he sifted through the memory of the place and found what he was looking for. In a firm, clear voice he intoned, "With the power invested in me as Mayor of the City of Zootopia, I declare this new transportation facility open!" and dropped his paw in a cutting motion. The rust vanished, doors popped open and the lights came on in a perfectly functional, newly installed piece of transportation equipment for the city infrastructure, just like the mayor had said all those years ago.

Judy waited until they were aboard and moving upward before she tried to speak, But Nick beat her to the punch. His voice was resigned, but determined. If it was going to come out, it had to in one shot, or it wouldn't at all. "City sorcerers are charged with keeping the city strong and balanced, so it can endure the rough and tumble that comes with simply existing."

"Wait. So, you're an immune system?"

"Of sorts."

Judy decided to leave comprehending that comparison for a time when she had several months to spare. "OK, so what does that have to do with you being the last sorcerer?"

"Bellweather." The bitterness and fury that bled through the single word set Judy's teeth on edge. She had never heard naked hatred before and fervently wished never to hear it again. "I am the only sorcerer left because of her."

"What happened?"

"Zootopia needs sorcerers so it can take the hits that come from existing at all."

"Like natural disasters?"

"Yes, and Mammal made disasters, too."

"Like Bellweather?"

"Like Bellweather." Nick blinked back the tears before he could continue. "Her political movement was like a cancer. It was insidious; poisoning the city slowly. It weakened Her and, by extension, us. Then riots she instigated hurt the city badly. It was because of our work that the city weathered the riots, but it cost a lot of us our lives."

"Hang on a second. The Bellweather riots were over ten years ago!"

"Thirteen, specifically. That's when Nicolas P. Wilde, Private Investigator became Nick Wilde, borderline hobo."

"Wait. What? You were a PI?"

"That I was, Darlin'. When I started my PI service I was already a sorcerer. I figured I'd be able to make a living and help the city at the same time. A lot of us lived like that. We served the city while we earned a living and it all worked out. I was in my third year and finally getting stable when that crazy sheep brought the pred-haters down on us. It was bad, especially for foxes and other "inherently sinister" species."

"I read about her propaganda campaign and what her movement sparked in the city. The civil unrest caused a lot of damage."

"I can vouch for it first-hand. My office was broken into and ransacked, but that was just my job. The city burned and Her servants burned with her. My mentor, Finnick, was killed in one of the riots. He was a fox and small, so he was an easy target. At least he went down fighting."

"Oh, gods... Nick, is that what you meant by the city sorcerers being gone?"

Nick nodded. "The upheaval wasn't just bad for the mammals. Sorcerers are connected to the city. When the riots hit... just imagine what that did to us. A lot of my old friends died from the shock; their bodies rejecting them on a basic level. Some that survived the initial shock died like Finnick, trying to calm the rioters. A few were too hurt to stay connected to the city. They severed their bond with Her and left. By the time it all settled back down and that nut-job ruminant was behind bars, I was almost all that was left. The only other sorcerer in the city was Jabji, an anteater in Sahara Square and he died nine years ago."

"So, you've been only one taking care of the whole city for a decade?"

"Yes."

Judy's slack-jawed stare coincided with the doors opening on the street on Sahara Square. Nick stepped out and padded slowly down the alley towards the sidewalk.

Judy stood, stunned, as she tried to grasp what he had just told her. She couldn't believe what she'd just heard, but it all made too much sense coupled with everything else she had learned. Her focus snapped back into reality just in time to see his tail slip around the corner of the alley and onto the street. She scrambled on the grimy concrete to catch up with him. For the first time since she'd met him, she genuinely feared he would vanish.

Skittering around the corner, she was so relieved to see him standing there, she blurted, "So that's why you're so worn out!" The mortification at her outburst intensified as she noticed the other mammals staring.

His smirk didn't help. "Well reasoned, detective." He chuckled before closing his eyes and lifting his nose and paws to the air currents. "There was a time we had a dozen per district. I've been doing my best to keep up, but all I can do is the minimum. I'm tired, Judy. I need help. This calm won't last forever."

"So you need me."

Nick held up a finger to halt her train of thought. "Not the way you're thinking. The city sent me to find you, but you still have a choice."

"That's comforting, but what did you mean the city sent you to find me? Doesn't she have a hard time communicating what she wants?" Judy asked, her brows wrinkled.

"Hah! Yes. She does, a bit. She usually gives clues. After a while you learn to interpret them." Nick left his paw in the air and felt air, waiting for the telltale signs.

"We went over that last night," Judy chimed in.

The fox nodded in agreement.

"So, what's this about a choice?"

"Breakfast first, Carrots," he replied without opening his eyes, or lowering his paws.

Finally, Judy couldn't contain her curiosity. "What are you doing?"

"Getting paid, Hopps." Judy only had time to quirk an eyebrow before the fox's paw snapped out and plucked something from the air. At first, she thought it was just a dirty piece of paper that had been blowing in the wind, but when he uncrumpled it she discovered it was a bank note. Barely enough for a cheap breakfast for two. Nick smiled shamefacedly at her unasked question. "She takes care of me. It's not much, but it keeps me going."

Nick turned away before he could see the pity seep into her expression. He didn't want her pity. He also didn't want guilt to color her choice any more than it already had. She had to choose for her own reasons, not because she felt sorry for him.

They walked in silence down to a small plaza where a fountain stood. The neighborhood was predominantly small to medium sized mammals and the air was thick with the smell of spices, dried peppers, rice, beans and sofrito. Nick guided them to a sliding window and a shelf with a laminated menu taped to it where they ordered burritos.

The tension was murderous.

Desperate to cut the oppressive atmosphere, Nick cast his senses out across the plaza looking for anything that he could use. All he found was the bad salsa music playing through the tinny speaker over the ordering window. Resigning himself to another bout of embarrassment, he rapped on the window and asked that the music be turned up. The peccary paused his cooking long enough to side-eye his strange customer and poke the volume a little louder. Nick nodded his thanks and before Judy could do anything, he struck; pulling her into an impromptu dance while they waited for their food in the early morning light.

Some minutes, a ravenously devoured meal and a shadow walk later, they were meandering down the street in front of Judy's apartment with fuller bellies and much better humor.

"You were right." Judy admitted contentedly as they arrived at her stoop. "Magic hangover cure is the same as regular hangover cure. I have got to remember that place."

"And I think they'll remember you," Nick teased.

"Yes. Thank you for that." Judy couldn't manage to put and force behind the sarcasm, or hide her smile.

"You are most welcome, Senorita."

Judy laughed and Nick made to leave.

"So for our second date…"

"That wasn't a date, Wilde," came Judy's quick retort, complete with warning glare.

"I know. Just ruffling your fur, Carrots. If it was, I'd be hoping for a good night kiss."

"Well you aren't getting one. Or a good morning kiss either. It isn't night anymore, in case you hadn't noticed."

"Pity, but probably for the best," Nick agreed with a shrug.

"I will say though," Judy added, "that this was the best not-date I've ever had. It's not every night a lady gets to knock over a building, take on a gang with a pawful of lightening and go paragliding."

Nick arched a brow in Judy's direction, his smirk widening to show a hint of fang. "You have strange tastes, rabbit. You talk like that and a mammal might think you'd enjoy a date with me."

"I think I might, if you ever ask me. Although, I think I'd prefer to keep dates and not dates separate for now."

"Are you proposing we keep our professional, city-oriented and personal lives separate."

"As much as we can, but we don't have a personal life yet, Wilde. You need to ask me on a date first."

"Hmmm... well then, when I see you later this week, I'll have to consider doing that."

"I'm not seeing you tonight?"

"Awfully eager aren't you, Hopps?" Nick asked as he waggled his brows.

A touch of red tinted the long ears as they flicked in growing irritation. "That's not what I meant. I thought…"

"I know, sweetheart. You got some answers, but you want more. It's not that I don't want to, but I have to play a little catch up and lay the groundwork for your next lesson. Or "not-date", as you call it."

Seeing her badly concealed crestfallen expression, he decided to throw her a bone. "Listen, Carrots. All teasing aside, I enjoyed last night. It wasn't a date and I'm not going to ask you for one, yet."

"Well, why not?!" Judy kicked herself mentally while he laughed.

"A few reasons," Nick blustered around his humor. "First, we need to see if we can stand each other. But mainly," Nick leaned down to her level and locked eyes with her before finishing. "If I were to take you out, I'd want to be able to do it right. Until then, you'll just have to be a good little rabbit and be patient." On the last word, he booped her nose with his paw pad.

Afterwards, she would claim it was getting revenge for the boop, but really it was thanking him for the nicest thing anyone had said to her in years. Before she could stop herself, she lurched forward and hugged him. She hugged him like she meant it and put everything she had into it. She felt his muscles tense for a beat before he took to a knee and hugged her back. It was a fight for her not to gasp at how good it felt to be held again.

This time, Nick was prepared. A little. He managed to not embarrass himself and maintained his self-control. Blessedly, he didn't need to focus for long. Any untoward thoughts were swiftly blasted from his mind on the wave of raw power that flooded into him. It was her distilled and it felt like heat, light and joy pouring through his withered, cynical little world.

When Judy finally pulled away and looked the fox over, a smile tugged her muzzle up at the corners. From how his fur bristled and the invigorated he looked now wore, she'd accomplished her goal. "I figure since I can't really help you until I learn more, you'd put it to better use."

"Bloody hells, Carrots. Warn a fox first!"

"Nah! Surprised looks good on you." There was something missing between her mouth and her brain. Probably the filter that kept her from sounding like an idiot.

The look he gave her was indecipherable, but something about it made her feel as tall as a giraffe and lighter than air. The feeling only intensified as he fired a wink at her and headed for a shadow at the side of her building. Before he slipped away, she decided to throw caution to the wind and called out. "Hey, Nick?" She had to know.

"Yeah, Fluff?"

Pointing to her eyes she asked, "Are these really why you love the color?"

His smile was genuine as he said, "Absolutely. 100%." Naturally, he had to follow it up with, "You've got a nice tail, too."

Her eyes bugged a touch and her ears flushed at his words. Then, he fired a wink at her and he was gone.

Her arrival at work after a shower and change of clothes went about as she expected. Clawhauser was all over her the moment he saw her. "Date! That. Was. A. Date!"

"It wasn't a date, Benji."

"Oh, now I know it was."

"How so?

"One, you called me Benji. You only do that when you're in a really good, or really vulnerable, mood. Two, you look like you did before you met James; all bright eyes and little bunny strut in your walk. Three, you're swaying your hips to music only you can hear. And four, you've got that smile."

"What smile?"

"That "I just had an awesome night out and I might be in love" smile," Clawhauser replied while leaning his elbows on the counter and resting his head on his paws. Francine, who had paused in making her way past the front desk when she happened to overhear their conversation, bent forward slightly to peek at the rabbit's face.

"I do not!" Judy insisted.

Interjecting, for friendship's sake, the pachyderm shook her head and pointed her trunk at Judy. "Uh, yeah you do Hopps. You're grinning like a fool and it's only gotten worse since we called you on it.

"I do not!"

Lupus leaned around Frannie's leg and pointed in the direction of Judy's head. "Red ears! Confirmed."

"Oh, please. I am not smiling that much." The urge to touch her face and confirm her words was nearly irresistible, but since she could feel her ears flaming, even pressed against her shoulders as they now were, she didn't need to give her coworkers any more ammunition.

Fangmeyer popped up from behind Judy, coffee in hand and ears perked in interest. "Hopps, at this point you look so happy you look lobotomized. That only happens with new romance," came the voice of, dubious, experience.

"Well?" Clawhauser prompted.

"Well what?" Judy replied in a poor effort to feign indifferent innocence.

"Was it a good date?" the cheetah very nearly purred.

"It wasn't a date," the beleaguered bun nearly shouted.

"Oh, come on, Hopps!", Francine pleaded. "Fine! Was it a good night out?"

Judy couldn't hide the grin that curved her muzzle, nor hide the sparkle in her eyes. She couldn't help but have some fun with the situation. "It was magical."

"What did you do?" Wolford's excitement registered at the same level as a school girl's and drew a curious sideways glance from Frangmeyer and Lupus; especially since no one had noticed him join the little group.

"Well, he showed up late, but made up for it. We really tore up the town." Judy smirked. "We ran into a few friends of his. They were a little rough and tumble for my taste, but we came out well from it. It was a lot of fun. He really opened my eyes to some things I've been missing."

Sensing that there was more to the tale Clawhauser asked, "Anything else?"

"A phenomenal view of the city…" came Judy's enigmatic reply. "Spur of the moment dancing in Sahara Square this morning…"

"This morning...?" Fangmeyer sputtered through a mouthful of java.

"At breakfast. I, uh, stayed at his place." All eyes went wide at that announcement and Judy knew there was no way to take back what she had let slip out. For a pregnant moment, besides Claw's whispered, "Oh. M. Goodness…" there was not a sound to be heard.

"It got late!" Judy offered by way of desperate explanation. "I didn't want to come home all the way from the Nox at that hour." It was somewhere around that point when the rabbit realized she should have just kept her muzzle shut.

"Did you…"

"No, Ben. If I had your sniffers would tell you." Amethyst eyes shot a sharp look at Francine's hovering trunk and Wolford's muzzle. "Not even Musk Mask covers up that much."

"So what _did_ you do?" Fangmeyer voiced, her inquiring mind needing to know what could turn the jaded rabbit into a 'honey-bun'.

"He was a complete gentlemammal. He gave me his bed and he slept on a chair," was the prim reply.

"Is that all?" Fangmeyer asked.

"Yes!" Judy replied firmly.

Lupins' and Fangmeyer's disappointment was almost visceral. Wolford, on the other hand, sighed an, "Awww…"

"Oh wow... talk about a turnaround!" commented Francine.

"Oh, shut up," Judy waved her friend off.

But Francine refused to be silenced. She was genuinely happy for her friend, after witnessing so much time spent in misery after James' betrayal. "I mean it, Jude."

"I know. I know."

Wolford piped up, "Did you give him a kiss good night?"

"Nope!" the rabbit answered quickly, only to be taken aback by the looks of disappointment, shock, and outright disbelief. "What? I told you it wasn't a date. He needs to ask me out for that to happen," she explained.

"Ok, what?" Lupuss yelped.

This led Judy rolled her eyes. They just didn't seem to get it. "It was a night out, not a date. When he asks me properly, I'll consider it."

"And when will that be?" Clawhauser asked her.

"I don't know. I'll find out when I see him later this week," Judy replied softly, almost shyly.

"O. M. Goodness. Judy, you are playing hard to get! Do you think he'll really ask you?" the cheetah squealed giddily.

Taking a moment to think before she responded this time, Judy finally replied. "Considering what he said early this morning? Yes."

Eyes wide, Clauhauser clasped his hands as he demanded to know, "What did he say?"

"That if I kissed like I hug, his fur would be sparking. I think the odds are good he'll be a good boy and ask me to dinner soon." With that Judy gave a wink and sauntered off, hips swaying as her movements bordered on swaggering.

"Damn…" Lupus whistled.

"Somebunny plays for keeps…" Fangmeyer stated with a shrug.

"And some fox knows how to show somebunny a good time," Francine sighed.

"You jealous you never gave him the time of day?" Fangmeyer asked the pachyderm.

"Oh, please, I don't do males! I'm not a fair-weather rug muncher," she replied with cheerful airiness.

Judy knew was just bending the truth, but it felt good to have a few secrets. If she was really honest with herself, it wasn't far from the truth. It made her shiver with excitement to recall all they had done that night. It also surprised her that she was thinking so much about the possibility he had been serious. They had been joked about him asking her out and he had said he'd do it if he could do it justice. It was all vague and uncertain, but the more she considered it, the more she hoped he would, eventually.

In the meantime, she had a job to do.


	6. Chapter 5

So, today has been a banner day for me as a writer. A new chapter finished here, another two finished for other pieces and a fourth has a solid start. I am feeling uber productive. The cherry on top is the new cover art for Barbed Wire Dreams, by WyvernsWeaver. It is an honor to have such a well respected fellow Zootopia fan show such an appreciation for one's work. Please, check out Weaver's Deviantart page, or follow the link (without the spaces) to the cover art.

thewyvernsweaver .deviantart art/Barbed-Wire-Dreams-711011488

Now that I've gotten my fangirling under a bit of control...

Here, gentle readers, we have the next installment of Barbed Wire Dreams. I hope it lives up to expectations.

::wanders off to continue fangirling::

* * *

Judy sat impatiently, waiting for her shift to end. A few weeks ago, if anyone had told her she would be more interested in the end of her shift than the beginning, she would have blown them off with a few rude words and a comment on their intelligence. Now, it was a whole new world. The idea that it was a brave new world only made her shake her head. "Insane" was a much more fitting word, but she was looking forward to the straight jacket if that was the case.

Walking into the precinct the morning after her evening out with a certain male fox had led to an absurd turnaround in her life. As much as the evening itself was an eye-opener, the next day was even more so. She'd taken her ribbing until Chief Snarlov had called an emergency meeting for all officers and sent her off to the showers to get her tail ready for the day. Ten minutes later, she was still damp and listening as the Chief rattled off case assignments.

Apparently, the previous evening there had been a huge gang fight. A call was received reporting major gang violence on the docks. Officers had responded and discovered that the Dockside Reavers had been caught up in something unpleasant. The gang had been a thorn in the ZPD's side for years and they never left enough evidence for arrests. Responding officers had found the entire gang unconscious, incapacitated, or in dire need of medical attention. There was also evidence of one hell of a struggle, as well as contraband weapons and narcotics. The forensic techs were already testing the weapons. The list of related crimes coming up was staggering. Blood traces, fur and fiber evidence had already linked the gang to dozens of murders and missing mammal cases. Ballistics was adding to the list with every test.

The gang members, as individuals and a group, were going to be facing charges that would leave them behind bars for decades. Those that would ever leave the hospital, that is. The gang leader would never walk again and would be lucky to ever eat solid food. Judy felt a momentary pang of remorse for her involvement in him ending up that way, but it quickly passed as the list of charges against him grew.

In addition to the remarkable turn of events with the Reavers, a building collapse was under investigation and there were reports of a Zootopian Aviation Association investigation into a complaint about an unscheduled flight. The Chief's grumbling about thrill seekers had Judy choking down a laugh in the bullpen. The strange looks she got only made it worse.

The following weeks were a blur. It was odd for her, seeing the results of her and Wilde's actions. Everything they did was outside the scope of law, but had done good things. Not all good, granted, but it was hard to see the bad in what they had done. It was made more challenging when she was out walking during her rare downtime. The Docks District and the surrounding areas felt less tense. The only way she could describe it was a similar feeling to the last time she put an abusive spouse in cuffs. The victims of the abuse were relieved; jubilant in that they were free of the pain; finally allowed to heal. It was a benediction to her anxieties and a balm to her soul; one she needed badly. She just had to reassess her sense of morality a bit. The self-reflection did her some good.

In the aftermath of her night out, her workload increased massively, as did the general business of the ZPD in general. The consequences of the Docks building collapse weren't limited to the contractors and investors. Dozens of other crimes and acts of negligence came to light as a result of the initial investigation. Mammals involved were getting it in the neck all over the city. Judy couldn't have been more thrilled, despite the absurd amount of overtime she was pulling.

Apparently, the contractor had a history of questionable business practices and cutting corners. This latest event presented new evidence in several previous investigations, some of which led to injuries, property damage and deaths, but could never be proved. Now that there was enough evidence to proceed, there were plenty of old cases to be worked on for everyone in the precinct, as well as every investigator they could beg, borrow, steal, or buy. It was the buying part that led Judy to her current preparations. She was in, possibly, the oddest situation she'd ever conceived of.

The madness of her job and the desperation of the ZPD for help led Judy to double down on over

working herself in the hopes that a little more effort might take some of the weight off. It would also alleviate another point of loss she felt in that she'd spend a little time with Wilde, for a change.

It appeared that for all the positive effects on the city it caused, he was just as pressed as she was. In all the time since their romp through the Docks, they'd only been able to meet up once for any substantial amount of time. True, they'd crossed paths and spent a quick meal or so together, but that was all. Wilde had kept his word and seen her that same week, but only for enough time to grab an ice cream at a local hotspot. Then, he was off again, back running through shadows and doing gods only knew what. Judy wanted to know. She wanted to know so badly she could taste it.

She kept telling herself it was envy that he was doing what she wanted to. She'd felt a craving to work magic since she snatched a fistful of lightening from the wires and blasted one of the Reavers. The little bits she'd done that night had whet her appetite, but she'd been fasting since. The one time she'd tried to do anything on her own, she'd managed to electrocute her iCarrot, destroy the radios of every officer within ten meters of her seat and knock out one of the servers. In retrospect, it hadn't been the wisest move on her part to do it in the station.

The fox had been insufferable. He appeared outside the precinct just as she was sneaking out, following a mass-electronic failure in the main office area, as the tech mammals were calling it. No one inside had suspected her. Wilde barely restraining his humor, his eyes full of knowledge about what had happened, had been the last thing she wanted to see. She didn't smile at all when she saw him. She bared her teeth and she experienced no relief or happiness. She was just glad to escape the scene of her little whoopsie. Her tail didn't twitch either.

"Well, Sweetheart, you don't do anything by halves, do you?" he chortled from behind her.

She bared her teeth, felt not-happy-not-relieved to see him and with a very non-twitching tail she called in that she was 10-7, out to lunch. Clawhauser was on dispatch and shot back, "Copy, Hopps. So is the rest of the precinct. Take your time, computers and radios are down for the foreseeable future," which sent both the fox and the rabbit into a fit of the giggles.

Feeling generous, and quite a bit like a kit who just got away with something, Judy treated her malnourished coconspirator to some food. It was a short lunch. Much too short for Judy's tastes and not because she craved the company. Absolutely not. It was the fact that their rendezvous was frustratingly short on information, satisfaction and results, but what could one expect from a food truck meal on a public park's bench?

"What do you mean affinity?" Judy mumbled around a mouthful of greens and root veggies.

"I mean what you have a talent for."

"Thank you for saying more, but explaining nothing. You ever considered a career in politics?"

Nick laughed before answering. "That wouldn't work out so well. Disregarding the whole species thing, sarcasm in an elected official doesn't fly."

"You never know. It could work in your favor. Sarcasm would be more honest than the voters are used to and less nasty than the usual mudslinging. It'd be good for a few votes just for novelty's sake."

"I doubt "I'm Snarky Because I Care" would be a good campaign slogan, but I'll consider it. Now, back to topic."

"For once," Judy snarked around another mouthful.

"Play nice, young lady, or you'll get a spanking."

"Is that a promise, or a threat?"

"If I say it's either, I'm screwed."

"If you're lucky."

"This isn't getting us back on topic, Carrots."

Judy grinned. It felt good to be so comfortable with another mammal; to be able to do things like verbal sparring, again. She hadn't been able to since before James. Her ex-husband had been a verbal lightweight and jealous, to boot, so finding another sparring partner hadn't been an option. She hadn't had an opportunity like this at all while they were together. After the divorce… Well...

This was just part of the healing process. It was comforting and so unbearably welcome after being alone. Granted, her isolation was self-imposed and past-tense, but despite having a slowly rebuilding social life with friends and coworkers, there was something different when she was with Wilde. She felt more at ease, more comfortable. She knew exactly what Ben and her coworkers thought, but that wasn't the case. All joking aside, she enjoyed the fox's company, but that was it. The whole precinct would take all of this as flirting. Weapons-grade flirting, but it wasn't. It was just… banter with a friend. A friend she didn't know she had, really, but that was a technicality. She'd been too caught up in being a grumpy bitch to realize how good a friend he'd been to her.

Casting that awkward tangent of thought aside along with another weird pang of nostalgia, she prompted, "So, what's affinity?"

Nick swallowed a large mouthful and took a sip of his drink to buy some time. It shouldn't be a challenge to answer, but with her current mood words were not his forte. She'd been frisky when they'd been friendly previously, but nothing like this. Nick had to presume she was making up for lost time. That or she was taking his offer to be patient as a challenge. "Think of it like a talent. Your affinity is what comes easy for you."

"Wouldn't you like to know."

Nick facepalmed and Judy chuckled.

"Alright, Fluff. Enough with the flirting."

"It's not flirting!"

"Uhhuh. I thought you wanted more information."

"I do! I also want to have some fun with getting it. It isn't often I can go toe-to-toe with someone like this."

"This isn't toe-to-toe. This is an ambush."

"I thought you were up to the challenge." Judy bit her lip and grinned across the table at him saucily. "Or is this poor widdle bunny too much for you?" She regretted doing so as soon as his eyes met hers.

"There's one way to find out, Honey Bunny. Now, do you want to finish our conversation?" Nick's face split in a very suggestive grin. "Or do you want to adjourn to your apartment to find out?"

Before Judy could retort, Nick slipped his tongue over one of his fangs and back to the corner of his mouth. Judy's eyes follow the motion and her temperature increased as the appendage moved.

Chastened and blushing furiously, Judy stammered. "Point taken. Um, af-f-ffinities?"

"Personal, professional and city lives separate, remember?"

"I didn't think I was being that over the top…"

"I didn't complain. Just be patient."

Judy's eyes rolled. "Uhhhuh…"

"Not a forte for rabbits?"

"I can be patient when I want, but I know better than to think you were serious about that." Nick's nonplussed expression didn't phase her. "It was sweet, but I know you were joking. It's what you do."

Rather than answer, Nick primly passed over her comments. Judy masked it, but it stung a bit; both his relative coldness and refusal to confirm her assertion. Still, she listened. Anything she could learn about her new situation was invaluable. Her hurt could wait for when she got home and opened her fresh pint of Carrot Cheesecake ice cream. Not that she'd need it, of course. This was just a talk with a friend that got a little out of hand. She was out of practice with such things and naturally, there'd be a learning curve.

"My affinity is shadows. Cities are full of them. All different kinds. That means I can walk through shadows more easily than you will be able to and farther, to boot. Conversely, you will always be better at handling electricity than I will."

"What else can you do with shadows? Just walk through them?"

"It makes hiding easier, for one thing. I can also conceal other things, create illusions and manipulate light a bit better. A few other things."

"So, affinities make somethings easier, but not everything."

"Exactly."

"Any idea what I'll be able to do?"

"Other than be an awesome physics demonstration and destroy police equipment?"

"Obviously, smartass." Judy's smile was just humoring the fox. He wasn't really that funny. Also, she didn't giggle. It was a cough.

"For a lot of it, you'll have to discover it for yourself. That's how it is for all of us, but I can give you a starting point. Luckily for you, I knew one other mammal who had the same affinity you do. One of her favorite things to do was run the wires. It isn't instant travel, like my Shadow Gateways, but it's still damn fast."

"Hang on. What do you mean running the wires?" Judy's ears perked in anticipation of his answer.

"Like it sounds, sweetheart. Running along the wires like I do through shadows." Seeing Judy's wonderment, Nick added, "She called it riding the lightening."

"When do I get to try that?" Her breathlessness sounded alien even to her, but she saved the embarrassment for later.

"Soon enough. I know it doesn't sound like it, but you have a few things to do first."

"Yes. WE need to start with the lessons."

"First, you need to work on your connection to the city."

"Yeah. I'm working on that with my walks."

"Once you can maintain your connection on your own, we can start with the basics. Until then…"

"Yeah, yeah… Patience…" Grumbling, Judy collected the leavings from her finished meal into its foil wrapper and dropped it into a nearby bin. Seeing Nick was collecting himself to leave, Judy had to ask one thing that was bugging her and had since she had learned what he was. "Hey, Wilde, I have a serious question."

"Your lunch break is almost over, Carrots."

"It's a quick one. I did some reading online and I'm not so sure you're using "sorcerer" right."

"Oh?"

"Well, Shaman and druids were the ones that spoke to the spirits of the land. Sorcerers were most commonly said to work with demons. The city isn't a demon, so why do you call yourself a sorcerer?"

"Three reasons, Fluff. One, calling myself a shaman or druid would be completely absurd. They were pillars of the community and more often were healers than anything else. I am no healer and I'm hardly a paragon of public service as far as society goes. I'm more an external support."

"Like a flying Buttress?"

"How very cathedral of you."

"It's a nice buttress."

Nick face-pawed, before plowing on. Judy knew her attempt to get back to the lighter side of their conversation had flopped. "Two, sorcerers exist alongside society, but aren't really a part of it. We're too connected to the city for that. Three, the city isn't a demon, but what is a demon?"

"An evil, unnatural life form?"

"Good to know you're versed in the classics of science fiction. You've got the gist of it. Sorcerers of antiquity supposedly dealt with what was considered outside the natural order of the world. What is less likely to occur naturally than a city?"

"So, not demonic, but synthetic?" Judy supplied with a slight tilt of her head and a flick of one ear.

In response the fox blinked once, brows rising slightly as he thought over what she said. After a brief moment, a grin curved his muzzle and he gave the rabbit a nod of ascent. "Not a bad analogy there, Carrots. I admit it's a stretch, but it fits."

Being lost in thought, Judy missed the fox slipping into a shadow and vanishing. By the time she realized he was gone, all she could do was kick herself. She knew she'd upset him. If she was honest with herself, she hadn't been the kindest she could have been to him. She mentally berated herself all the way back to her desk, where the world completely fell out from under her. Sitting on her keyboard was an oxeye daisy and a yellow rosebud. The flowers for patience and apology. She felt like a kit, again.

That event sparked two things. The first was an ear-splitting squeal from Clawhauser. The moment he saw the flowers he put the best police whistles to shame and the sonic blast alerted the other interested parties in the building. She barely managed to escape the storm of questions that followed without immolating.

The second was a drive to help him. Judy still couldn't completely believe he was serious, despite another sweet gesture. Setting aside her wild fantasy as an excuse, Nick needed help. She wasn't a sorcerer, yet, but she could help in other ways. One of which was very simple, but very challenging. It also led to another very awkward conversation, this time with the Chief.

"I think he could be an asset."

"He's already an ass, so far as I've been told. Even by you, until lately." The sharp look that accompanied the comment didn't phase Judy as she stood before her boss. Chief Snarlov had been doing the job for four years, but didn't have the same level of raw intimidation that his predecessor did. New recruits were terrified on the polar bear, but the veterans who had served under Bogo were less impressed. The Chief didn't care. He did the job, did it well and commanded respect. The rest was irrelevant. "So, why should we add the other syllable to the word? What benefit could he bring to the ZPD?"

In response to her boss's query, Judy produced a copy of Nick's old PI license. Such things were very rare. Private Investigator licenses had once upon a time been relatively easy to acquire, not much different than a regular business license. However, in the last twenty years they had become much more rarified. This was due to a crackdown, years previous. Increasing interference in ZPD investigations and damage to court cases led to City Hall passing a series of statutes governing the industry. It effectively placed PIs under ZPD supervision. The less than legit practitioners abandoned the industry and the requirements to get, and keep, a new license were very stringent; lots of red tape, lots of documentation. The fact that Wilde had gotten and kept one for over three years spoke well in his favor. "It's genuine. I checked his records and file from before the riot, as well. He had an 88% success rate with his cases. That's high."

"Very high. Are you sure those records were legitimate?"

"I'm allowing for some error, but every file had the full set of documents. No missing forms and all of the documents had verified and correlating serial numbers."

"All of them?" the chief asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I checked them all. I couldn't believe it the first time, so I checked twice."

"Unbelievable... so you want what, exactly?"

"I want him to be brought onto the ZPD payroll as a civilian consultant and assigned to me."

"You want him as your partner?"

"Yes, Sir."

The bear leaned back with a considering look on his face. "You've never wanted a partner before, Hopps. Even on larger assignments. What's changed?"

There was an uncomfortable silence and a small struggle on her part to admit her reasons, at least the ones the chief would appreciate. "I've... realized that what I was doing wasn't working. I need help and back up more than when I get in trouble."

"And you think Wilde would be a better fit than another officer?"

"With all due respect to my fellow officers, the ones I would be comfortable with are partnered up and I don't want to break up good teams."

"What about the rotation?"

"The rookies and greenhorns need seasoned officers to teach them the rules. And I'm..."

"...barely contained by the rules at the best of times," Judy's boss grumbled with a flat look.

Judy chuckled. "I was going to say I'm not the most patient of mammals."

"True. You are a wild card around here at times and you aren't known for your patience. You would be an excellent mentor, otherwise... but that is something to consider later."

"Sir?"

"Hopps, I'll be candid with you. I'm not comfortable with this. It is highly irregular. Civilian consultants are rare and for good reason. It is not, however, unheard of. You know this and the risks. You wouldn't take them if you weren't confident both he and you were up to the challenge."

Judy nodded, but was uncomfortable with how the Chief was phrasing his reply. There was a heavy tint of something about it that she didn't like. The objections, she had expected. The tone they were delivered with, not so much.

"Now, while that fox gives me the willies, he's done good things for you." The Chief's voice was starting to show hints of softness. Dare she say, fondness? This was not good. Oh, so very not good.

Suddenly, the firmness was back and Judy breathed a huge sigh of relief. "You have known him for years. You've investigated him and vouch for him. I trust your skills and commitment to the Service that you wouldn't do that unless you were certain he was on the up and up. That's why I'm willing to give you a chance on this."

"Yes!" Judy couldn't prevent the accompanying mid-air fist-pump.

"You have this case to prove he's up to the task and can play by the rules, at least as much as you do. Make sure he reviews all the reporting requirements from the PI and CS statutes as they have been updated and knows exactly what is expected of him. Make no mistake, your tail is on the line if this goes south. Your recommendation. Your responsibility. Mess this up and your tail is destined for mandatory rotation duty for two cycles."

"Understood, sir!"

"I would suggest, also, that you review the ZPD statutes and policies on fraternization. I don't care what you do in your private life as long as it doesn't affect your work, but there will be no embarrassing the Service with any unprofessional behavior, or PDA on the clock. Am I clear?"

Judy blinked owlishly before squeaking, "I... what?!"

Snarlov sighed. "I'm authorizing you to work with your boyfriend for a trial period, Hopps. If he's gotten you to admit you need a partner, so I owe him a chance. Show me results and we'll make this permanent. Now, say "thank you" and don't make me regret it."

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"Make him take you to dinner to celebrate," the Chief continued as if she had said nothing at all. "But AFTER you finish this case. Dismissed."

"But, Sir!"

"Out."

Her assignment was simple. She had to interview one of the investors in the building project that had collapsed. Strictly routine, generally speaking. There was a small issue with the mammal in question. He was damn near impossible to pin down, even in an official capacity. The badger had four things on his side that made him a pain in the tail to talk to.

For one thing, he was traveling more often than not. The second and third were his rather frosty personal assistant, a giant Southeast Asian black squirrel, and lawyer, a tule elk buck, who were very effective at running interference. Fourth and finally, he was an arrogant prick. The ZPD had been on his meeting schedule for weeks and the white striped egotist had blown off the first two meeting. He wouldn't even bother with a Muzzletime interview. He'd been out of town for weeks, but tonight only, he was in Zootopia and would be visiting his personal nightclub for a little R&R. How Nick came to know this was a mystery that Judy hadn't worked out, yet, but it would wait until after they were done with their meeting.

The plan was simple. Go to the club as a couple. Magic their way past the bouncers and get to see their target. The conversation would take maybe ten minutes and then they could slip out and make their report. Judy was unimpressed that so much work was needed to ask a few routine questions of one egotistical shmuck. He wasn't even under suspicion. The interview was just a formality and procedural requirement.

Judy took the rest of her shift after talking to Snarlov to finish the prep and front-end reporting for her plans that night. Then, she headed off to her apartment to shower and get ready for a night at a club. At Nick's suggestion, Judy ate a solid meal and dressed as she usually did for work. She was technically going to the club on police business. It was not a date. It didn't even qualify as a night out, so it made sense, of a sort. He'd insisted he would explain when she met up with him.

After she ate, showered and dressed in her usual intimidation-heavy work clothes, she took a moment to assess herself. Bland styles, dun colors, durable fabrics and the brightest thing she wore was her badge. Fifteen minutes later, she was dressed in a lighter, form-fitting blouse, hip-hugging jeans and sporting her carrot necklace and a little eyeliner. Her reassessment was less drab, but she felt idiotic. The other outfit was the better choice and the makeup had to go. She turned back towards her tiny closet as she unbuttoned her blouse only to be interrupted by knocking on her door.

Her watch confirmed her fears. It was time to meet up with Nick. She had completely lost track of time fussing over her appearance. Now, she was stuck. Resigned to her fate, she grabbed her jacket and prepared to steamroller anything the fox had to say. It was a good plan. As long she didn't let him get a word in, or get control of the conversation, she'd be fine. As the saying goes, no plan survives contact with the enemy and Judy's plan died.

Usually, the fox wore what Judy considered his uniform. It was mildly grimy and seldom varied. What he wore now, however, was not his usual style in any way. Black trousers that hugged him in a way she wasn't sure should be legal. His jacket and foot wraps looked like pleather and he was missing a shirt. She had to admit he looked good. Her momentary distraction also met an untimely end as she realized he was wearing a tie. It took her a moment to realize that the tie was also pleather and rather thin, attached to a collar. The bloody fox was wearing a collar and a leash stylized to look like a necktie. The implications were mind frying, as was evidenced by her shocked, staring silence. It lasted until Nick spoke.

"Like what you see, Carrots?"

Her initial response was tackled, bound, gagged and stuffed into a box before it left her mouth. It didn't stop her ears from reddening. The fox looked good. Judy had finally admitted he was handsome after their evening of civic destruction, but this was something else. He looked tall, dark and dangerous in a mischievous kind of way and it worked. Sweet Mother Nature, did it work.

Receiving no response, Nick prodded her again, "You dressed up."

"Huh?"

"Articulate, Hopps."

Judy blinked. "What did you say?"

"You dressed up," he repeated, slower this time.

"So did you," Judy stammered. "Wha-why?"

"I have to look the part, rabbit. I did tell you that."

"You said that, yes, but how does that "look the part"? What part are you playing?"

"We're going to Stripepaw's club. This is normal for there."

"Then why did you tell me to dress like I usually do for work? The styles don't match at all!"

"That's also normal for the club. Although you'll still fit in as you are. Less butch, but it still works well." Nick's gaze shifted from assessing to lingering as he spoke and Judy was not oblivious to it. "Yes... very well...

That was the straw that broke the bunny's flustered silence. "Alright, eyes up here, for one. I'm missing something. How are your get up and mine a good fit for this club of his? We look completely different!"

"That's normal, Carrots. It's called personal time. Mammals don't have a uniform for that," Nick snarked.

"Being cute with me will get you slapped, fox."

"See? You're already in character!"

"In cha-... What in the nine hells are you talking about?!"

"Carrots, don't you know what kind of club Stripepaw's is?"

"A night club?" Judy retorted sarcastically. "You know, dancing, loud music, overpriced watered-down cocktails." She gave him another once over. "Borderline indecent exposure..."

Nick grinned. "Well, you're not wrong..."

"Stop playing games. Please? Just let the other shoe drop."

"It's a kink club."

Judy suddenly found it challenging to form poly-syllabic words, or speak, generally. "It's a-"

"Kink club."

"We're going to..."

"A. Kink. Club." The fox enunciated clearly around a hooded grin.

"Why?"

"It's the only place your target is going to be unable to escape."

"Ok..." Judy decided to let that lie and move on to something she didn't already know. "Now, explain the outfit thing?"

"We need to blend in, so we're dressed to suit. I'm wearing the collar, so I'm the-"

"I figured that part out." Judy cut in, pinching the bridge of her nose and struggling against the blushing, as well as a strange feeling of giddiness.

"And you wearing your usual cop clothes..." Nick waved a paw for her to make the next logical step.

"Yeah. "Butch". Got it." Judy laughed and let her paw drop. "Unbelievable..."

"You aren't angry?"

"How could I be? The situation is too absurd to be taken seriously. You must have some reason for all this. What is it?"

"It's a kink club, but it's pretty hardcore. The rules inside are most certainly NOT the same ones on the outside. The members can be a bit extreme and take their protocols very seriously when they're there. Fitting in is part of it, but it's also about perception. I can get us in to see him, but WE need to get inside the door first. That part is necessary for the magic to work."

"I'm assuming there's more to it."

"Like I said, they're pretty extreme. Some of the rules you'd expect to have followed don't apply in there. That includes personal space, for a start and if they smell weakness or vulnerability there's a chance someone might try something like a challenge for dominance. Trust me, by their rules, you do not want to lose one, Carrots. Some of the mammals in there would be very happy to get their paws on a rabbit and the word "no" doesn't mean the same thing inside that place."

"And that's where you come in, I suppose." Judy's fist was on her hip. It was her usual position in such circumstances. It was not surprise that she was standing like that. What did surprise her was the cock of her hip and the attitude slipping into her voice. Nick noticed, too.

The fox's grin turned sharp and hungry. "I'm your demon on a leash. If you're strong enough to keep me under your thumb, you deserve some respect."

"I'll admit you make the whole collared sub thing look good, but how will having you as my property make them take me seriously? A bunny owning a fox may be a statement of strength, but how will that deter anyone who wants to try something?"

"True. You keeping me as I am wouldn't be enough, but by the time we get there, I'll be all the deterrent we'll need."

"Sorcery?" Nick nodded. "Is that really necessary?"

"The mammals we're likely to meet there won't be following the rules of polite society, Judy. This is all for our protection. It's unlikely to be needed, but I'm not taking chances. If they're afraid of me they'll leave me alone and if you own me..."

"Then I'll be protected. That is very sweet and pretty twisted."

"What can I say? We live in twisted times. Besides," Nick continued with a wink, "It'll only add to the legend of Judy Hopps."

Rather than say anything, Judy approached the fox. She should have been angry. A few months ago, their little exchange would have left her furious. She didn't need his protection or him to be a deterrent. She didn't need anything. She'd made herself that way. To be taken seriously as a cop took everything she had every day. She had to do twice what anyone else did just to be given a chance. She could only rely one herself. it was all on her.

Until lately.

Since her first dream, Judy had started to realize that she didn't need to do it all herself. Going it all alone hadn't been necessary. She had been hurt and pulled a knee-jerk reaction. That was all. She didn't need to do it all alone. It felt good that someone wanted to help her and keep her safe. It felt good to remember that she had support and mammals who cared. She hated to finally admit it, but the fox leaning on her doorframe and smirking at her was exactly what she needed. He was a friend and after this case, a partner.

"You know..." she said as she reached out and took his tie in her paws. "I think I like the idea of having you on a leash."

"To keep me under control?"

Judy slid her paw higher as a smile crept across her lips. With a cheeky smirk she replied, "I'd know where you are for a change."

"You miss me when I'm not around that much, Carrots"?

She didn't reply. She didn't trust herself not to embarrass herself or make things awkward. Looking up at her coconspirator in the evening's operation, she had the same thoughts again and couldn't keep the last one quiet, this time; tall, dark, dangerous, mischievous…

 _Edible…_

Rather than act on all the inappropriate and unprofessional things the voice in the back of her mind was suggesting, she gripped the tie in her fist until the fabric creaked before slipping past him. She let the garment slide through her fingers until the very end where she gripped hard, but didn't stop walking.

"Come on, Slick. Let's get this over with."

Recovering from his stumble, Nick chirped, "Yes, mistress."

Judy's mind came to a screeching halt on that statement. All the thoughts she'd been having about celebratory dinners and feeling better about her situation were blasted from her mind. To her credit, she didn't stop walking and only flinched a little, earning a chuckle from the fox. Waking into the elevator, she tried to ignore just how much she liked hearing him say those words.

Nick wasn't unaware of the situation as they made their path. The rabbit's changing emotional landscape was evident in the firework display around her. She had always worn her heart on her sleeve and to a sorcerer it was even clearer. Nick could see the mass of emotions and the impacts they had on her as clearly as his own muzzle. She had yet to learn to conceal that part of herself, as he had. He suspected she wouldn't bother once she learned how, either. That wouldn't stop her from being annoyed with him for not telling her about it, but what could he say? Until a sorcerer gained certain skills, they couldn't be explained. Try describing color to a mammal born blind. It'd be just as easy.

Nick saw her burst of pleasure at his words and the following discomfort and sidelining. It was normal to see such hints in emotions. Reactions unforeseen causing crises of self-image and uncertainty were just a part of living. Rarely did it become self-reflection. How she would react remained to be seen. It would have an impact on her developing relationship with the City. He wanted to pursue that line of thought, but work came first. Once their paws were on the sidewalk, he grabbed her paw and led her through a shadow.

They stepped out onto a dirty street in a rough neighborhood of Savanna Central. To call it a depressed area would be akin to calling a work of Dali "odd". Abandoned buildings, boarded up windows and blowing refuse in the gutters as far as the eye could see. The few mammals to be seen were solitary figures making their ways hurriedly along. Nick could tell some were up to no good, but not all.

Casting out his senses, Nick felt the area in his bones and blood. Homeless mammals and the impoverished huddled in together in abandoned buildings, hoping the morning would come quickly and without incident. Families slept fitfully behind doors that are were less valuable than the lock that held them closed and desperate mammals cowered in shadows. Fear was thick on the air and that was what Nick needed.

As they walked the last stretch to their destination, Nick gathered. He pulled the ambient fear of the area and collected it, weaving it in his paws; the fear inspired by the barbed wire crested fences and barred windows; the terror of mugging victims and the anxiety of their attackers, the wide-eyed panic of children and the dread of the trapped; the stricken horror of witnesses and the despair of the survivors; mammals fleeing for their lives or begging for them. The foreboding atmosphere of the place was rife with a thousand flavors and textures of horror and the fox wove every one of them, thread by gossamer thread, into his spell.

A few paces from the club entrance he tied off the last threads and let the magic slide around him from ears to tail. It felt like sandpaper and silk across his fur. As the magic coated him, Nick relaxed and let the illusion set while he mentally prepared himself. They'd briefed and prepped. They knew their roles. The only unknown was how Judy was going to react to him once the spell took hold. He only had moments to wait before he felt the peculiar tension typical of such spells snap into place. He shook himself a bit and turned to Judy.

"Ready to do this, Hopps?"

Her response died on her lips as she looked at what the fox had become. To her eyes, he was exactly the same as he had been at her apartment. She'd known he'd been working magic as they walked and hadn't interrupted him, despite her gnawing curiosity. Now, she stood petrified. He was every nightmare she'd ever had come to life.

Looking at him, nothing was right. Her eyes said one thing, but her mind saw something else. His beautiful russet fur was limned in hellfire. His grin was a demon's sadistic rictus, teeth sparking memories of shark's teeth and bloody surgical tools. His claws dripped poisonous ichor and his clothes were turgid shadows writhing with horrors about to be born. All that terrified her, but when she looked into his eyes her heart nearly stopped. His luminous emeralds, so full of laughter and cheek, were transformed. Now, they were pits bleeding darkness, circled by dancing sickly green flames and white corpse flesh.

Blinking, she turned away and shuddered. She had been warned. It did not prepare her in the least. Of course, how could it? Nothing to do with sorcery seemed to be explicable until you experienced it. This was one of those experiences she wished she could have skipped.

"Judy, are you ok?"

"I see what you mean by a deterrent. No one will want to bother either of us."

"Exactly."

Judy heard the contrition in his voice. He didn't like hurting her, but that would need to be explored later. She couldn't look at him to help him understand, so rather than dither she said, "Lets get this over with." The sooner their job was done, the sooner they could talk this over. The debriefing for this mission would be one for the memoires.

For all her shortcomings, Judy was aware of her strengths. She could improvise well and her acting skills were passable. Seeing what she had to work with in her partner, she adopted a persona that would fit as they made it to the door and entered the foyer. The bouncer took one look at them and hurried to push the curtain aside and open the door behind him. The musclebound moose didn't even consider waving them through to the dance club on the first floor. It was obvious which part of the establishment they were there for.

Judy began to pass the bouncer but noticed Nick hadn't moved. The fox stared at the moose blankly. Judy managed to see that much before having to look away. As long as she didn't look for long, the effects of Nick's illusion didn't seem to impact her too severely.

Nick continued to stare at the bouncer until the giant herbivore was openly sweating, before asking in a sickly-sweet tone, "Aren't you going to welcome us?" The childlike question contrasted with the sepulchral tenor of his voice and memories of childhood nightmares roiled through both the moose and the rabbit. Judy suppressed a shiver. The other mammal affected was not so lucky.

"P-p-p-please, make yourself at home, sir!" The moose was trembling as he spoke. Nick narrowed his eyes and he quickly added, "And you, as well, madam! Please, be welcome!"

The fox continued to stare and Judy realized she needed to do something, or she'd need to call an ambulance for a heart attack victim. Remembering her character, she snapped her fingers and barked "Nicolas! Come!"

The fox slid his eyes off the quivering doormammal and intoned, "Yes, mistress," before gliding through the door.

Even before the door shut behind them, Judy hear the bouncer key up a radio and talk to someone, most likely Sandpaw or one of his lackeys. "There's a rabbit on her way up. Yes, a rabbit! Do NOT fuck with her!"

The rest of the babbled warning was lost as the door and curtain closed behind them. Judy had a moment to admire the soundproofing before Nick slipped a little piece of broken concrete the size of a coin into her palm. She looked up at him, forgetting the illusion, but was met with a much less terrifying view of her companion. He was still intimidating and made her fur stand on end, but the visceral, atavistic terror was absent.

She looked askance and her "pet" supplied, "I'll explain later. Just keep that on you. I'm about to amp up the spell so it affects more than just my immediate surroundings."

Judy's ashen expression must have alarmed him, because he quickly followed up with, "It won't affect you as long as you have that on you. Now, let's go."

Judy nodded and they quickly ascended the stairs, pocketing the shard.

Once at the top of the staircase, it took all of Judy's willpower not to blush like she did the first time she'd had to go to Mystic Springs Oasis on a case. Comparatively, that place had been a cake-walk. The "club" she had walked into was part medieval torture chamber, part Caligulan orgy. There was furniture around the space, if it could be called furniture, occupied by mammals in various states on undress and doing things that, well, Detective Judy Hopps would have made arrests for and Judith Lavern Hopps would have blushed herself to death at, once upon a time. However, she wasn't there for the purpose of hashing out the terms of their activities, or discussing the legal limits of personal consent. She was there for Stripepaw.

She knew from the layout, where the private room of the club's owner was and made a straight line for it. She was amused to see mammals give her a wide berth and considering looks while avoiding looking at the monster pacing along on her heels. The leopard manning the door opened it as they approached without a word. Evidently, they were expected. Inside, Judy found more of the same, but it was of significantly more interest to her.

Stripepaw was tied to a chair with a towel across his lap. The failing attempt at modesty was a consideration he would no doubt pay for later, as was evidenced in the sour look on the face of the ocelot holding the riding crop. To Judy's further interest, his lawyer and PA were both there as well.

The badger's voice was full of bravado. "Officer Hopps! A pleasure to finally meet you."

"A pleasure you would have had sooner if you knew how to keep appointments." Judy tried not to react to the obvious shiver that ran through him at her forcefulness. She'd need a shower, and possibly disinfecting, after this meeting.

"An oversight I will not make again, I assure you. Now, what can I do for you?"

"Well, seeing as how your PA is all tied up and your lawyer is incapable of speech at the moment, I have a few questions for you."

"I'm all yours, Officer Hopps." The ocelot dominatrix sent a glare his way that left no doubt how severely he would pay for that statement. Apparently, she was the jealous type.

The conversation took a few minutes and was punctuated by several innuendos. Nick's presence certainly moved things along. His presence spurred swift answers, but had an unfortunate impact or two. They had to pause once as the PA, who turned out to be female and in possession of a major fear kink, couldn't restrain herself while looking at Nick. Another interruption came as the dominatrix grew bored and asked to inspect Judy's property. That sparked a strange feeling in her rabbit little heart, but playing along came first and she waved her consent.

By the time Judy was done her interview she was intensely uncomfortable. Things had gotten positively bizarre by the end of it. By the time Judy made to leave, the squirrely PA was nearly delirious from overstimulation and Stripepaw had obviously enjoyed his "interrogation", as he put it.

"If I had known talking with the ZPD could be so much fun, I'd have been much more accommodating. I won't make that mistake again."

Judy mentally retched.

The dominatrix was sullen as she fulfilled the badger's request to give Judy one of his personal cards for a future play date, making it clear he had incurred another penalty. However, the ocelot smirked as she offered one of her own cards, saying, "I would love to talk shop with you, sometime. Your pet is so well trained, I think I have a client or two that would benefit from working with you." Judy smiled and accepted both, promising herself to burn them and disinfect her paw at the earliest opportunity.

They made it back out of the club quickly, but not without further incident. The cards in Judy's paw garnered significant attention. The rabbit fervently wished she had pocketed them, but she hadn't wanted to burn her favorite pair of jeans, either. After the fact, she would have considered it a worthwhile sacrifice. She now had a small stack of cards and not a few offers of the kind that made her skin crawl from mammals that seemed all too eager for her attention. Quite a few of those cards were intended for Nick, but as she was his owner they approached her instead. Those conversations had led to a large volume of feelings she didn't want to think about boiling up inside her, most of which she didn't want to think about until after a long, hot shower and possibly some therapy.

Nick pulled a paper envelope out of his pocket once they were street-side and peeled himself out of his illusion. It had worked so well, he decided to keep it. Shrugging it off, he neatly folded the spell and slipped it into the envelope, before folding it shut. As he scribbled a sigil on the back to keep it closed, he heard something bounce off the sidewalk. The scrap of concrete he'd made into a temporary ward for Judy skittered across the concrete and came to rest in a pile of dead grass and litter.

"Is it safe?" Judy asked unsteadily.

"Yeah, Carrots. The spell is gone." Nick had no time to react before he felt himself pulled to his knees. Judy's paws were on his face and her amaranthine gaze locked onto his.

Judy was shaken. The whole insane evening had been rough on her, but she'd managed. Nick's outfit and character for the evening, along with all the emotions she'd had to suppress, had been a tax on her she hadn't been prepared for. So far as she had planned, their little infiltration should have been just slightly outside her comfort zone. Instead, she'd been sandbagged repeatedly and having mammals walk up to her and proposition her services as a trainer after seeing the terror-inspiring creation she'd been accredited with making… She felt more than a little out of sorts. It had left her feeling oddly disassociated.

Making it worse was the emotional conflict raging through her mind. Despite knowing about the illusion and even taking into account that little rock he'd given her, every time she blinked she saw the illusion version of the fox. The terrifying vision still rattled around her head and she felt the shakes coming back. She was overwhelmed and felt very unsteady. Judy needed to hold onto something. She felt an overwhelming urge to grapple onto her friend and sob, but the atavistic fear still lingered, especially the vision of his eyes. Now, she held his face in her paws and looked at him. She needed to see it was him in there, that it wasn't the illusory horror. She was surprised how important it had become to see him and know it was the fox.

Nick understood she was scared and why. He made a choice. He let his usual mask slip away for a moment and let himself show. His paw covered hers as it rested on his cheek. "It's me, Judy."

She saw the emotion in his eyes. The mammal who she knew. As he gave her a weak, but genuine smile, the fear finally cracked and faded. Judy let out a shaky breath and leaned forward to rest her forehead against his shoulder.

"Why did you to that?"

"I assume you mean hit you with the spell and not give you the ward stone first?" Judy nodded without removing her head from his shoulder. It was a fight not to nuzzle in or burst into tears. "I needed you to understand what everyone else was experiencing, or your acting would have suffered."

"That's it?"

"Also, a small lesson."

"Lesson?" She pried herself away enough to look his in the face.

"Illusions and ward stones. One of their uses. I can't teach you magic yet, but I can help you understand some of the applications. It was heavy-handed of me, but now you understand that illusions aren't to be taken lightly and you can protect others from their effects."

"That was a brutal way to teach a lesson, Wilde."

"I know. I'm sorry. At least you'll remember it, though?"

Judy huffed out a slightly caustic laugh and punched him in the shoulder. "You have got to work on your teaching techniques."

"I will," he promised while reaching up to rub his arm. "Also, Ow!"

This time, she laughed genuinely. Judy was irate and a little hurt, but both were trumped by her relief. She was glad to see he was trying to teach her. He would get better at it and it was a learning curve for both of them. She couldn't be too angry with him for being out of practice. She was trying to relearn a few things, herself.

"We really are bad at this aren't we?" Judy mumbled to herself.

"Pardon?"

"Never mind," Judy replied as she pulled away and headed down the sidewalk. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"The chief suggested I get my boyfriend to take me to dinner to celebrate our first case. Since you aren't my boyfriend I think I'll treat my friend to a meal. We can write up our report tomorrow."

"I won't fight you on getting food. I'm starving!"

"Don't get any funny ideas. We aren't going to the Ritz and you're paying me back with more information. Got it?"

"Yes, Mistress."

Nick nursed his new bruises all the way to the diner.


	7. Chapter 6

Another chapter! Perhaps, it will contain revelations. Or, possibly a development or two. Potentially, a realization? Maybe all of those and a dose of actual plot movement are in store! Read to find out.

Cheers!

* * *

If there was a word to describe Judy's mood it was jazzed. She was ecstatic! The farce with Stripepaw's club and the endless jokes at her expense from her coworkers were worth the recognition of her results. She got them when no one else had managed it. Her methods were… unusual, perhaps, but effective. The feeling of getting a three-day leave was worth the casual inquiries about what else she got up to in that club with Wilde.

Naturally, she played it off and much more smoothly than she would have been able to a couple of months ago. She really was coming back. Her old fire was returning, as were a few other things. She was laughing more. Even going out for drinks with coworkers on occasion. It felt weird. The closest thing she could equate it to was getting a cast off a broken limb. Everything felt odd, but good; alien, yet familiar.

Among the things that were strange and distant, but making a comeback was an old tradition that she had abandoned when a certain buck rabbit had come into her life. He'd been a lot of fun in some ways and seemed like a decent mammal at the time. However, her ex-husband was in no way whatsoever a dancer. He'd hated it. While they were together she'd given it up for the sake of not making him uncomfortable, or feel neglected.

Those days were over.

Tonight was a revival of her tradition for closing a case: dress up, go out and dance until the world spun. It had been too long and she was practically humming with excitement. She was also feeling a little guilty pleasure. None of her coworkers knew about her plans. They'd get an invite to the next one and it'd be her first real return to her old self as far as they were concerned.

This one was for her and her partner. Their first case together had been successfully concluded and the District Attorney was confident of making a strong case. They needed this. They deserved it. She needed to dance and finally shake off the idiotic idea that she couldn't enjoy herself anymore, while he just needed the break. A night of dancing and wild destressing would do him a world of good.

Nick was feeling ambivalent. This was the first time he was doing anything quite so social in a long, long time. Under normal circumstances he would have declined, citing his work, and be completely honest about it. His duty to the city was always humming at the back of his mind. The places his attention was needed never stopped and only grew louder the longer he evaded them. This evening, however, was an anomaly in his experience. For some reason, She was being less demanding. The sense that Her needs could wait was very clear; almost demanding. It was a bizarre feeling to think that the city was encouraging his personal life.

Almost as odd was Judy's request for the evening. He didn't think they'd be going to a risqué club of any kind, but she had still asked him to wear something like what he wore to Stripepaw's. "Just maybe with a shirt and no collar? We wouldn't want mammals getting the wrong idea, would we?", was all the input she'd given him. It had increased his uncertainty, rather than allay it. Looking at himself in the mirror, he had to wonder which wrong idea she was talking about, exactly?

Her reaction to his kink club outfit had certainly been strong. In fact, the whole evening had been a series of strong reactions. He still regretted upsetting her with that illusion, but he was so rusty at teaching. If he was honest, he was rusty at most things outside of magic. Like behaving normally in public, interacting with mammals other than short order cooks, flirting. Though, she certainly seemed to appreciate his attempts.

After stepping through a shadow, Nick stood on the street across from the club in the RD Judy had selected for their evening's frivolities. He'd never had much interest in such places. Jungle Beatz was a repurposed warehouse, sitting in a largely former-industrial area. It was perfect as a location for a nightclub, as there were no neighbors to disturb with the pounding bass that rippled through the air and echoed through the streets. Moments after he arrived, Judy found him and hauled him to the doors of the club. A cover charge and a pat down later, they were inside. Nick felt totally out of his depth.

Judy could feel the music pounding in her bones before they even made it inside. It was the sort of dark, heady mix of dance and pop music put together by a DJ who knew their stuff. Once she was off the bus, it was a quick matter to find her companion for the evening. That was significant for some reason, but she didn't think about it. There were more important things to focus on, like shaking her tail!

As soon as they were in the door her hips were moving to the beat and she was letting her being meld with the music. There wasn't room left in her mind for much other than how much she had missed this. They hit the coat check and then made straight to the bar with Judy in the lead at every step. Judy grabbed the bartender's attention and two pairs of shots appeared. The first one burned on its way down.

Grinning, Judy asked, "Aren't you glad you decided to become my partner?"

"Making me your partner was your idea, Carrots. I was iffy before. Still am."

"Why?"

"I wasn't expecting my first paycheck to disappear into liver abuse in one evening, for one thing."

"Don't be a spoilsport. You've got another coming in a week and it'll be bigger. And we aren't drinking it all. Just a quick one now then a follow-up. We might get one to nurse, later. I'm here to dance, not get sloppy."

"Good to hear."

That was her usual MO, once upon a time. A quick burn and a chaser shot to loosen her up and then onto the dance floor. The first was always a single. The second, a double. Later, she'd get something to sip as she rested between bouts on the dancefloor. It was a tried and true method to keep her evenings relaxed and flowing, without getting too drunk. She'd kept to it religiously then. Now was no different. Except for the sip she stole from Wilde's glass.

Nick pretended not to see her filch from his drink. She deserved a little extra fun and he didn't usually drink, so he wouldn't miss the loss. That said, he also wanted to enjoy what he paid for, so he shot the rest of his double. No sooner had the glass met the bar top than Judy had his paw and was dragging him onto the floor. She didn't stand on ceremony. Nick watched as she turned into a being of movement.

It was miraculous. To his Sorcerer's sight, more than just the shaking of hips and rhythmic movements were going on. He watched as years of stress and emotion welled up from her being and poured out of her, burning away like fog on a sunny day. When they'd first met, he had thought she had shone like the sun. Now, she was coming back to it. Not the bright giddy gleeful brilliance of her younger years. This was deeper, richer. More intense. Less childlike joy, but with so much more potency to it, it stole his breath. It was like comparing apple juice and a rare red wine. She blazed like the sun when he met her. Tonight, she blazed again; a dark sun and a dervish of released emotion.

Dancing was obviously important to her. She had missed it. He had to encourage her.

Dancing was not unfamiliar to the fox. He'd never been good at it, but he'd never had a reason to care until now. He mimicked the movements of those around him and felt ridiculous; until he saw his partner grinning at him. Some of the tension and discomfort fell away. Dancing got easier. He followed her lead.

They'd dance away and then back together. Every return brought them closer. Then, he felt her paws on him. He didn't mind. He wasn't surprised. He even enjoyed it. The alcohol lowering his inhibitions was partly to blame he mused. Her paws traced along his arms as they danced together. Closer and closer until they were grinding to the music.

About halfway through the night an old remix of 'Try Everything' came on. It had been years since Judy had heard Gazelle. A few months ago, she'd have rolled her eyes and ignored it. That wasn't her anymore. The optimist and the hopeless romantic in her were dead. This remix, though, was darker and more ragged. Grittier. Hard-bitten. Feral. Primal. Almost cruel; it's lighthearted message of hope turned commanding, driving, compelling. This was much more who she was, now. She liked its new incarnation.

Try everything.

She went for broke. So far, they'd danced face to face. With a neat cross-ankle spin and a sleek dipping of her hip, her back was to his front and her hips were against his. She continued moving as if it were as natural as breathing. She kept at it until Nick fell into the new rhythm. It didn't take along. A few minutes later, his paws were on her hips, if lightly, and her hands were waving in the air as they found their rhythm, shed their uncertainty and lost themselves in the music, again.

Another song came on that was less booming power and more hungry seduction. Judy's hips slowed and rolled with the new beat, a set of slow, narcotic, undulating waves. Nick's body stiffened in reaction to the change in her, but he didn't try to move away. That gave Judy a wonderful idea. It was too good a chance and she needed him to not be such a self-containing stick in the mud. She needed the release dancing gave her and her dance partner needed to be on the same wavelength. She decided, Nick needed to disconnect from his brain.

If she remembered right, the best way to stop a mammal, particularly a male mammal, from thinking was to distract as only a female could. She planted her hips back against him without stopping her gyrations and arched her back. She was just into the song as far as he'd know. Right up to her tilting her head up to run the tip of her nose from his chin down to his throat, releasing a sighed breath into his fur.

Nick reacted. His paws popped off her hips and clenched, fingers extended. He had to fight not to make fists, or bring his paws down on her again and grip. If he did that, he wouldn't be able to stop them from roaming. That would be bad, for some reason. He was sure of it. If only he could get his mind working around the alcohol.

That was until he felt her silk-soft paws thread into his and guide them back down to her waist. Once his paws arrived where she wanted them, they had minds of their own and slid across her belly. She grinned to herself and rewarded him with another long slow grind back against his hips.

All this happened without missing a beat or losing their place in the song. As the mix bled faster and the tempo climbed again, Judy took another risk. She turned her head and raised her paw up to stroke his cheek and side of his muzzle. He obligingly leaned into it and she struck. She half turned, brought her lips up and slid the side of her muzzle along his; whiskers barely brushing in passing as she finished the turn.

It wasn't a kiss and it wasn't a nuzzle. It was, however, enough to leave Nick disoriented for the intoxicating rush it sparked in him. So intoxicating, in fact, he didn't notice when she slid and dipped to bring them once more front-to-front, molding herself to him as they moved. His paws found their way unerringly to the small of her back and the rest of the night passed much the same way. Brief touches became long caresses, feathered breaths teasing each other's fur, and music pounding in their bones.

Later, Judy was at home, flopped onto her lumpy mattress and feeling better than she had in ages. She felt strong, powerful and more relaxed than she'd been in forever. It was a good night. Very good. Her satisfied smile turned rapacious at the thought of how most of the evening had gone. She almost felt bad for her partner, but almost was as far as it got.

She'd been merciless in teasing him. It had started out all in good fun. A little payback for all the patience she'd had to exercise. By now, she was sure he would ask her out formally and not just to fulfill his promise. No one reacted like he had and didn't feel anything. His self-restraint had been so cute. Testing it to just shy of the breaking point had been delightful. Playing with Nick was just a little fun. A little tease. It was good to loosen him up a little and gods did it feel good to feel really attractive to a male after all this time. His interest had been rather difficult to miss at the end.

As she settled into her bed, she nibbled her lip and grinned into the darkness like a giddy school kit. She didn't know exactly how she felt about him, but he was a good friend and a good partner. That was good enough. Judy fell asleep smiling, her spirit lighter than she'd felt in years. A huge weight was gone and tranquilized felines would envy her rest.

Her waking was another matter.

Her city dreams were the same as ever, but they took a turn she hadn't expected. The dreams themselves were the same as usual, but there was a sense of urgency to them and somehow kept coming back to Nick. Him working, fighting; pretty much the same as he had been the whole time, but there were some appreciable differences.

Now, he actually looked a bit like he used to. She liked to think that the meals she got him and the semi-regular infusion-of-power-by-hug were helping. He wasn't strung out as much. There was more meat on him; muscle, not fat. His expression was less the long-suffering survivor and more steadfast warrior. It looked good on him, as did his dark and deadly attire. Even more so when he played with fire and lightning, or bent reality around his fingertips.

Lean muscle. Easy grin. Bedroom eyes. Luscious, glossy fur mussed from their celebrating. He looked like he just rolled out of bed, but not in the rumpled I-slept-late kind of way. More in the "I had to pry her little grey paws off of me so I could get to work" way.

Wait. What?

That mental left-hand turn was enough to snap Judy out of her dream. She shot into wakefulness with bright red ears and a tightness in her belly she knew only too well. She didn't move. She had to take a moment or fifty to process what she just thought. Then a few more to comprehend the implications.

She thought he was attractive, of a sort. She'd admitted as much, already. This was something else. She was experiencing all the telltale signs of overt lapin desire. She supposed it was only to be expected. All the things she had set aside or neglected since the divorce were coming back around and making themselves known. It was only a matter of time before desire had its turn.

Judy had always had a hang-up about males. She needed an emotional connection to really want them physically. Nick had proved he was a good mammal and he'd had that scruffy glamour going for him for a long time. Now, some weeks of good care and lapidae support later, he actually looked a bit like he used to. Her support, magically and elsewise, were having an effect for the better. The consulting with the ZPD would help more. More cash would see him healthier and maybe help rehabilitate his gawpingly awful wardrobe. Gods knew it had already created more opportunities for infusions. She had to finally admit she looked forward to those a lot. It probably contributed to her current state of fox-centric distraction.

He was attractive. No. That she knew. She'd admitted he was attractive already. Repratedly. It was clear her desire was back and she had picked a target without being aware of it.

Now, she didn't have a choice, really. Not without tipping herself into the flat-out denial she'd been dancing on the edge of all this time. The fox looked good to her eyes and a few other bits of her anatomy. She wasn't in love with him, but she was certainly in lust and that was enough for now. It was a very satisfying admission to make.

Then, she made the mistake of lifting her head.

Reality suddenly had layers. They just happened to be in a blender. It felt like her senses were squirrels at a rave and somehow she had an extra dozen, to boot. Everything felt more. It was as though the city had followed her out of her dreams. Then, it hit her. It had.

She still felt the electric grid sparking in her nerve endings. The pipes still tickled, traffic flowed and smog blew while she felt it all, right down to the mechanical drone of the climate walls in her bones. There was also a hum at the back of her mind. It felt like someone was in the room and they were having a conversation, but not facing each other. Half-heard, half-perceived thoughts rattled around her mind and Judy realized it was what Nick had called the voice of the city. She also felt oddly pulled on an instinctive level to different places and drives to do things she wasn't familiar with. She was confused as hell, but that feeling took a back seat to the familiar presence she felt was heading her way, fast.

While Judy dreamed, Nick worked. It was easier work than he'd done in a very long time.

He had seen her to her apartment building through the shadows and left her outside her door in the wee hours of the morning. They had danced and drunk to the point where he lost his shirt and didn't notice until they were leaving the club. It had been an experience he wouldn't trade for all the money in the world and not just because of the diversion.

Spells came easier and cantrips tumbled from his lips or fingertips with the barest thought. "Things which satisfy us renew our strength." Gods help him, but that was true. Finnick had claimed the words had been passed to him from his mentor. Whoever said them first didn't matter, really. They were fact for sorcerers and any other magic users that relied on any of their own power to cast spells. That night, he had found more satisfaction than he had ever dreamed of.

He had a job to do and fighting his distraction was causing him more harm than good. Sort of.

In Tundratown, he was drawn to another pair of muggers, yaks this time, lurking in an alleyway. In order to pluck a weed like that, he had his preferred methods. Usually, the quickest method of extermination was how he would address anything of the kind. It was brutal and required the least expenditure of power. He never had enough anyway, so whatever he could do to stretch it was his default response.

Tonight, he chose differently. He had the strength to spare tonight and elected to be kinder, but no less ruthless. He reached out into the hotbeds of the desert and rainforest areas, where the warmth was so thick you could see it in waves and drew them to him. Quietly and so slowly that not a ripple was felt, Nick sent the waves of heat across the ground and into their clothing. Before long, both would be criminals were struggling against heat exhaustion. In desperation, they shambled out of their hiding spot and lurched off in pursuit of cooler locations. They'd hurt for a while, but they'd live.

As he walked, Nick saw a homeless teenager slumped against a building, shaking under the effects of whatever street drug he was hooked on. A small burst of power saw the shaking ease and the strained expression on the kit's face soften. The withdraw symptoms would be gentler for a few hours. Casting his senses into the air, he called up and snatched a flier for a nearby detox center out of the breeze. Sparing a spark of power, Nick cast a cantrip on the grimy paper to help the kit fight the withdrawal once he looked at the flier. Hopefully, until he could get to the clinic. Not long ago, he couldn't have spared the power for such a small thing, but now he couldn't ignore it.

She had changed him; changed the nature of his reality. Gods only knew what she would do when she finally woke up to the City and felt Her in her conscious mind. It was an eventuality that Nick had dreamed about for a long, long time and every day was closer. The anticipation was agonizing.

Just before dawn, when Nick was taking a breather in the Alpine District it finally happened. For so many years it had been only his one heartbeat in time with the pulse of the city. His steady, strong rhythm marching along in a dull monotone. Suddenly, there was another rhythm rippling through his senses. It was staccato and brisk, full of feminine character. She was Awake. She had finally brought her connection to the city into the waking world.

He wasn't alone. His boring, metronomic pulse wasn't the only thread of music in the ether. He had a counterpoint. The world felt like a samba!

He had made many mistakes in handling the rabbit's introduction to magic, but this part he remembered well. Waking up with a whole new set of senses and things to interpret was a hell of a way to start a new part of a mammal's life. The last thing she would need was him bursting out of a shadow. He needed to take a little time and let her feel him coming.

The turn of phrase made him giggle sophomorically.

He couldn't help it. This was too good. Too perfect. He was finally not alone!

Nick reached out to the wires that covered the city and felt the currents of power as they flowed. It would be fitting, he decided, to approach her in the way she had shown such interest in. He would run the wires. In a moment's inspiration, he reconsidered. He wouldn't run. With the music now humming through his world, he would dance them.

Just like he had at the dance club earlier that evening, he listened to the flow of the music, lost himself in it and slipped into the lightning's embrace. His presence had an impact, as did his joy, despite his attempts to contain the bleed-over. The warp and weft of the power grid reflected the tempo he danced to and it looked like the city was having a rave.

Judy knew something was coming and had a very good guess who it was. Then, the lighting went haywire and she didn't need to guess at all. She barely had time to pull pajama pants on over her meager sleepwear before he arrived, pouring out of a light socket; a massive form of electric power that slowly resolved itself into the familiar shape of the fox.

Judy managed a half-smirk at his dramatic entrance for half a second, then she found it very hard to breathe at all. To her new sight, he was not just a fox she'd finally admitted she had the hots for. He was a hot fox with power beating off him in waves while lightning crackled around him, and his presence felt strong enough to warp the world around him. It was like seeing him for the first time all over again and sweet Gaia did she like what she saw.

"So, Carrots, you ready to start learning?"

She had to fight not to request a paws-on lesson right then and there.


	8. Chapter 7

"Rabbit, you have got to be joking."

Nick was less than happy as he looked at her. Less than happy, but still appreciative. It was hard not to be appreciative considering the fact that she was wearing nothing but a towel and a thin one at that. The view took some of the discomfort out of the situation.

She, meanwhile was the picture of coquettish mischief, right down to the smoldering eyes and rapaciously impish grin as she leaned over her little makeup mirror. "Nope! Go get dressed."

Nick huffed as an excuse to roll his eyes away from the curve of her hip. "The same as last time, I presume?"

"Uhhuh!"

"Illusion, too?"

"I can shield myself from it, now, so yes." Judy spared her attention from testing her new lipliner just long enough to give her partner a little side-eye and a smirk.

"Did someone slip something in your coffee, today?"

"No, Nick. I'm sober. Totally."

"And now, I'm terrified."

"Good. Go get dressed and get back here. We leave in 20." She paused as he headed towards the shadow in the corner of her room. As he was slipping into it, she stopped him with a saucy, "Oh, and Nick?" The fox stopped halfway through the shadow gateway and raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. "Don't forget the collar."

He rolled his eyes, sighing in resignation before vanishing. Judy turned her predatory grin towards her shower. This was going to be a fun night.

Roughly two weeks had passed since Judy had first brought the city with her into the conscious world. They were some of the weirdest days of her life. The dreams were ever present and more intense, but she wasn't exhausted when they happened, anymore. Her new perceptions of the world around her added a layer of complexity that was frankly disorienting, at first. Seeing emotions hanging around mammals on the street was strange. However, that paled in comparison to the realization that everything from the cars and construction vehicles on the street to the streetlights had emotions. Hearing a muscle car purr as their owner gave it a goodbye pat in a parking lot had left her questioning her sanity and Nick doubled over with laughter.

As weird as the days had been, they had also been some of the best. Perceiving the city anew was thrilling in a way she hadn't felt since she was a kit. Her days were a kaleidoscope of new sights and experiences, filled with novelties and her nights… Her nights had become something truly special to her. 

Once she clocked out, heavens help any mammal who got between her and the door. She wasn't doing her job with any less zeal, or devotion. Quite the opposite, in fact, Judy was getting notably better at it. Applying her new senses to her work came to her like a fish taking to water, or a leprechaun to scotch. Her capabilities for observation and analysis had long been considered creepily accurate by her coworkers. Now, they held her in something close to reverence. Suspects cracked in minutes with her in the interrogation room, regardless of their histories or training, and cases closed with a distressing frequency. Too distressing for her chief. He was running dry on work for her and while that was a good thing in some ways, he did not was her energies undirected. Her endless enthusiasm had truly become a force of nature.

That said, her chief and coworkers were relieved to see that she was taking to her personal life with the same gusto. Apparently, gone were the days of Detective Judy Hopps sleeping at her desk (or under it) for up to a week at a time, while she worked herself into the ground on a case. Now, she was just as eager to leave at the end of the day as she was to get in at the start. There wasn't a mammal in the precinct who would look poorly on it either, not seeing the huge turnaround she'd gone through.

Today had been no different.

On her way out the door, Fangmeyer called out to her.

"Hopps!"

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"We're off the clock, Jude. What do you call me when we aren't working?"

"Nads!"

Wolford, who happened to be walking by, snorched a mouthful of his coffee out his nose. The tigress glanced the direction of the lupine distress and smirked. Seeing him torn between laughing and choking was very funny. Judy didn't miss how the look lingered on the felid's face as she watched her sometime partner struggle.

"Nadine," the tigress chortled, trying to sound irate and failing.

"Yes, Naddie, I remember. What's up?"

"Other than bean juice up a wolf's nose?"

"Great timing, wasn't it?"

Nadine could only smile and shake her head. "We on for drinks tomorrow?"

"Hell yes!" Judy beamed. "A case wrapped means a night of drinking and dancing as a reward!"

"Perfect. I need the stress relief." The massive feline smirked down at her petite friend and added, "You could always bring your boyfriend with you. I'd love an introduction to the mystery mammal."

Judy smirked right back. "One, he's not my boyfriend."

"Oh, gods, Hopps…" Fangmeyer interjected sarcastically. "Like your not-date thing? Is he your not-boyfriend?"

Judy let all the attitude out. "Alright, big cat. If you want me to bring mine, you have to bring yours."

Judy crowed as the tigress' face dropped. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'll explain, then. You want to meet my not-boyfriend? How about you, me, Nick and Wolford. Double date next Friday. We all have off the next day and with that much forewarning, I can get Nick to take an evening off."

Nadine's brain finally re-engaged. "He's not my boyfriend!"

"Just like Nick isn't mine, right?" Judy locked eyes with the tigress, daring her to argue. Seeing the huge feline speechless and fidgety was quite satisfying. The tough-cop persona they always had to maintain on the job was too good a fit on some mammals. Judy knew she was one of them, now. Nadine was another. After what she'd been through, Judy knew that sometimes they needed to be reminded they were still flesh and fur. In Nadine's case, powerful flesh and stripy fur, but under thirty years old and too serious too often. Just like Judy had been. "Next Friday, after clock-out. Dinner, ice cream and a walk in the park in the company of our not-significant others. Deal?"

Finally swallowing her sputters, Nadine ground out, "I'll ask James if he's free."

"He is. He's also waiting for you to make the first move. With canids, it's the females who ask first."

Finally giving in, Nadine leaned down and muttered, "Why are you doing this, Hopps?"

"Just returning the favor, Lieutenant. You encouraged me to take more interest in having a personal life. I've found something that I enjoy. I want to help you find the same thing."

"I don't need a romantic life."

"I said personal, not romantic." She held up her paws to forestall the flailing tigress' response, even as she grinned. "It could just be for fun. You know, that thing you told me friends do? It'll be fun!" Judy waited until the tigress had relaxed before adding, "He could be a lot of fun, too, couldn't he, Naddie? Friendships can be very stress relieving with a few fringe benefits. I mean, why… knot?"

The red ears the tigress wore only got worse as Judy winked. Her grin turned puckish as she shimmied backwards and turned to leave.

"That fox is a bad influence on you!"

"Keep Friday open, Nadide. See you later!"

Judy's parting words were delivered over her shoulder as she jogged towards the door. Fangmeyer and Clawhauser shared a brief look of shared amusement at her antics, before he beckoned her over.

"What's up, spots?"

"Did I hear right that you and James finally going on a date?"

"Gods damnit…"

Nadine Fangmeyer's gaze at Judy's back was part vexed, part pleased. Her friend was finally a little like what she used to be and showing a little spirit, again. Her eagerness was easy to understand, despite the fact that her coworkers were in the dark. To them, she was building a life and finding joy in it, again. It looked like a magic trick to them. They just didn't know that afterhours was literally a magical time for Judy.

As soon as she was out of direct sight, she leapt into the wires and made her way at the speed of lightening to her mentor's company. She had lessons. Of late, city electrical engineers were baffled by the sudden surges that happened around rush hour.

Lessons were a delight for her.

Speaking of delights, this evening was going to be a special treat. Judy grinned to herself as she stepped out of the shower three minutes after stepping in and started scrubbing the water out of her fur. Once she was dry enough, she stepped onto the fur dryer pad and set it to medium fluff. She reveled in the feeling of warm air running through her fur and tried not to make a comparison to a different kind of heat.

One of her most recent lessons had led to things of an entirely unexpected sort. All she had been tasked with was collecting electricity from passing cars; just enough to pull a spark or two, but not stall the vehicle. It should have been simple, but not stalling the vehicles and not letting what she'd taken dissipate proved a solid challenge to her. It remained that way until Nick took pity and stood behind her. His paws cupped hers on the outside, helping her feel the correct balance of the spell as he worked the magic. At his direction, she closed her eyes to help her feel the spell, claiming it would help her understand. It did, actually. Feeling tension of the spell in her paws helped quite a bit, indeed.

Unfortunately, she had also felt his body heat. That and his scent had her very quickly leaning back into him, totally lacking in focus. Her inattention cost a telephone pole it's life to a rabbit-based lightning strike, but she reproduced the spell perfectly, afterwards. Nick's talk about sense-associative memory finally made a little sense, after that. All she had to do was remember how she felt in that moment and the magic came naturally.

The magic wasn't the only thing coming closer.

Closer and closer and yet distance remained.

For all she and Nick had more contact, spent more time together, and learned more about each other, there was something holding him back. Judy had seen the hunger in his eyes and felt his want when he got too close to hide it. She was positive he was refusing to take action for some reason. Therefore, being a good friend and partner, she was going to push him until he cracked and told her what it was. Then she'd do the thing any good friend would do and help him remove it.

Then she might just get the foxing she was after.

That was why she was slipping into the dark, form-fitting clothes she just bought, tracing and dusting on a little makeup and getting ready to go fox hunting. She'd paid careful attention to his preferences and the things that caught his eye, crafting them into her appearance for the evening. However, how she looked was only one part of her plan. The venue was going to be the lynchpin.

She'd informed her date for the evening of their destination before shooing him out to get ready and made sure to do it barely covered. His resistance had been token at best.

"You want to go where?"

"Stripepaw's club."

"Are you pulling my tail?"

"I can if you're into that."

"Come off it, Hopps. Why there, of all places?"

"Comparison. You want me to learn the subtle differences in emotions as they manifest in auras, correct? Well, how am I supposed to do that without a point of comparison? You're the only mammal I know that I can claim to know the emotional base line of, so…"

"So, you want to observe reactions to different stimuli to understand the changes and how they can manifest. I get that, but why the kink club? I thought you never wanted to get within a mile of the place again!"

"It's grown on me."

"Like a fungus."

"A humungous fungus!"

"Stop staring at my trousers when you say things like that."

"Afraid you won't measure up?"

"Disconcerted at having my masculinity compared to mold."

"Fair point…" Judy shuddered.

"Foisted by your own petard."

"I'd be foisted by yours if you'd let me."

"Gods give me strength."

"For later I hope."

"Rabbit, you have got to be joking."

His acquiescence moments later and with so little effort on her part was a glaring sign she was winning him over. With any luck, she'd finally get to the root of the problem in a matter of hours and they'd be able to stop dancing around what they both wanted.

They days she spent learning from him were pleasures, but mostly for the little treats she managed to steal in and around lessons. General skills like reading the city, responding to her needs and using her new senses were useful, but only a base. Her more practical skills were coming along quite well; perceiving life in machines, using her senses to predict quick paths, the warp and weft of the currents of power in all its forms. Manipulating electricity was, of course, coming to her very readily.

Those talents and abilities were proving very useful. She was coming to recognize problem areas and the root causes, as well as some workable solutions. She could gain insight that no other officer could and pull information out of anyone she questioned with ease. For instance, reading emotions was extremely effective in interrogation when applied to a suspect. Or in trying to decipher her mentor.

However, she wasn't doing any major magic yet and while sensing and reading changes in auras was becoming very useful in interrogation, she had a long way to go. Particularly in learning the finer parts. She found that she needed a comparison. A known quantity to measure changes against, like a lie detector.

Hence the immanent trip back to the kink club. It was purely so she could learn to read his reactions and thereby understand how they worked in general. If she found out what he liked in the process, well, it was about damn time as far as Judy was concerned.

Nick slipped out of the shadow in the corner of the room a few minutes after Judy finished dressing. She was adding the last touches to her makeup when he appeared and she knew for fact that he liked what he saw.

"Carrots, are you ready… to… go… oh… gods help me."

"Like what you see, Slick?"

Nick found it difficult to answer her question, as he had managed to forget how speech worked for a moment. Judy was wearing what he could only describe as casual dominatrix wear. Figure hugging pants tight enough to prohibit wearing anything under them, a shirt that was more halter than top and just enough makeup to accent her face. Her outfit concealed far more than it exposed, but what it covered and how drew the eye and what it exposed only fed the mind suggestions about what was concealed. The makeup was understated, but the effect worked with the outfit almost too well. She looked puckish and playful, but rather intimidating and very, very feminine. She looked good enough to eat and not for the first time did Nick have to stuff that thought in a box.

Clearing his throat, Nick lamely managed, "You look nice, Carrots," before he realized he'd stared for over a minute before answering her and her grin looked had blown past pleased and settled into predatory.

She sent an obvious look just belt his belt buckle and purred, "So I see."

The action was pure theatricality on her part. She could see his reaction popping on the air around him. Emotions were popping again, though of a less playful variety three hours later, as Judy hauled Nick out of the club and down the street by his tie and collar.

Gone was the lightly teasing atmosphere the pair had enjoyed before their excursion. The impatient enthusiasm that had swirled around Judy for so long had been replaced by angry, boiling jealousy and a smattering of pain, while his own tenuous enjoyment and awkward eagerness were absent. Everything Nick felt was back under the shroud he used to mask his feelings from other prying eyes. He'd let it slide when he was around her to help her learn, but now he was feeling a little regret for that allowance.

"You told me to win, Mistress."

"Not by those means." Judy snarled. "And now is not a wise moment to try to be cute with me."

"Those were the safest means of victory available to me." Nick stated as calmly as he could. "Why are you so angry?"

Judy stopped and released his tie, electing to pinch the bridge of her nose instead. "You really can't be that stupid."

"I'm not, Judy, but I still want to hear it."

"I was jealous! Insanely fucking jealous! Do you know how long I've been waiting for exactly what you gave her for nothing?"

"Too long."

"Damn right, too long. What does a doe have to do to get you to fucking kiss me?"

"Your sentence structure has gone downhill, sweetheart."

"Please, Nick. Stop with the deflection. Just tell me you aren't interested and I'll stop getting my hopes

up."

"I am interested."

Judy blinked owlishly. "You're what?"

"Did it ever cross your mind that I might be struggling every day to keep my paws off you?"

"Then why the hell don't you do something about it?!"

"Come with me."

This was not what Judy had planned. She'd done her research and determined how to handle their little foray. At first, it had gone swimmingly. Nick wore his terror illusion as a safeguard and Judy much more comfortable in her role. All she had wanted was an evening of debauchment, if by voyeur's standards. There, she would be able to practice reading Nick's aura, which she knew well, and learn to see changes in it. So doing, she would develop her skills as a sorcerer. She would also learn what turned him on, so she could create a battle plan. Simple!

It was going exactly as she had wanted, at first.

Walking into the play space, they were immediately noticed. Their impact at their first visit had left quite the impression. Several mammals offered to perform, or even service either of them in various ways. Judy pretended to be flattered as she declined. Usually, all Nick had to do was smile and the unfortunate mammal went scampering. Eventually, they were left with only the occasional mammal who enjoyed fear stopping by to bask in Nick's presence, while they enjoyed the ambiance. More specifically, Nick guarded Judy while Judy read his reactions to a very wide variety of mammals doing all manner of naughty, naughty things.

Most of it Judy found off-putting, as did Nick, she was surprised to find. Though, "disinterested" could have applied to him instead. However, there were a few scenes that Nick's eyes kept drifting back to and Judy saw his responses on the air around him. Her fox liked Pred-Prey games for one thing and seemed very keen on some of the performances that let the male cut loose, as it were. Given how restrained he'd been forced to be and for so long, it didn't come as a surprise. A pair of surprises did appear in the form of a momentary fantasy of him hunting her and the interruption of said lurid daydream.

Judy had been annoyed at the hyena for spoiling her fun and decided to agree to the much larger female's challenge for dominance. In response to Nick's flatly stunned expression, she ordered her pet to win on her behalf, as such a competition was beneath her.

She was furious with herself for getting carried away with her role.

A literal fight for dominance was the name of the game, which Judy only realized after the fact. Her fear for her fox was short-lived, however, once Nick let the power out. Less than a minute later, he'd backed the hyena into a corner and ended up with her cowering under him, his paws on either side of her head. The final blow was him gently and slowly nudging the shaking female's jaw up and to the side where he simply clacked his teeth. She fainted.

Judy dragged him out of the club moments later.

Now, she was reeling from his admission to wanting her and their sudden relocation to an abandoned housing project in Sahara square. She followed his lead with no questions, hoping her silence would get quicker results. Judy had grown tired of his evasions, but learned that when he demonstrated something, answers usually followed. This time was no different.

Nick opened the door to a room stuffed with ancient computer equipment and covered in dust. In the corner sat what she assumed was a pile of trash. That was, until Nick walked up to it and turned to her.

"Judy, meet Liam."

She was about to give him a piece of her mind before a piece of her foot in his rear when the trash pile shifted. She instinctively grabbed Nick's sleeve and was reassured when his paw landed on top of hers. He wasn't afraid. That was enough for her. Looking closer, she saw that the heap was roughly in the shape of an aardvark. The comparison came easier when a pair of luminous eyes opened and stared at her; luminous in that peculiar golden-sapphire light streamed from the thousand-yard stare like spotlights.

"I don't understand."

"Liam is the only other sorcerer left in the city."

"Hang on. You said you were the only one left alive."

"I am. He isn't."

"What happened?"

"You remember the Bellweather riots? How that crazy little sheep finally was brought down?"

"Her office laptop's camera and microphone somehow linked to the city Emergency Broadcast System. Her anti-pred rants and plans for collaring and enslaving the predators of the city to act as a military police force against the prey were broadcast to the whole city. It was enough to get her removed from office. She ended up in an asylum."

"That was us. I was just an apprentice at the time, so I provided a diversion. Liam made the laptop turn on and linked it through to the EBS. He also flooded the city with spells to nudge the perception and belief of the citizens. Don't ask me how. That kind of magic is way beyond me. It was also too much for him."

"What do you mean?"

"He let himself commune with the city too long and too deeply. He lost himself in it. Never came back. However, if you look closely, you can see more than just the aardvark is in there." The look of dawning realization about the faint golden-blue light in his eyes must have shown, because Nick continued with a nod of his head. "That's the city looking out at you."

"She sees me?"

"Uhhuh. Directly through her connection to what's left of him."

"What does this mean?"

"It's a warning, Carrots. Venture too far on this path and there are real dangers. Use too much power and the magic burn can consume you from the inside out. Go too deep and you can be lost, just like Liam. The risks are very real and never go away."

"So, if I become a sorcerer, I have dangers to face. I'm a cop. That's any day I'm on the clock."

"And, like your badge, you can turn in your magic and walk away if you want."

"That's fine, then. If it's too much I can walk away. No problem. Besides, you'll be there every step of the way, right?"

"Somewhat." Judy groaned and braced for his explanation. "Judy, right now, you can walk away. If you pursue the kind of relationship with me you've been hinting at, that way out disappears."

"Wait, how does that work?"

"One sad fact. Foxes mate for life."

"Wha- Oh…" Those four words changed everything.

"If you want me as much as I want you, that's a one-way commitment and I know you've been burned by that already. A future with me as a friend and mentor means staying the course. A future with me in your bedroom means you get everything that comes with me. The magic, the mysteries, the power, the responsibilities and it's for life."

She made the connection. "That's why you kept telling me to be patient."

"Yes."

Nick seemed sad to her, what little she could see of his expression before the floor pulled her eyes to it. Her situation suddenly had a completely different complexion and a lot more weight. It also had a huge amount of anxiety associated with it in her mind. Pushing it to the side until she could address it, she latched on to the one thing that her mind supplied.

"What do you want?"

Nick sighed. "What I want doesn't matter and if I influence your decision it'll go badly for both of us."

"I see." Judy fiddled with her paws, suddenly feeling very exposed in her risqué outfit. "Oh… I, um…"

"Need some time to think about it. I know. I did, too."

"I'm sorry, Nick."

"Don't be. This is all part of the Choice you have to make. It's a big one and you have to remember, it'll affect your career, too."

"I knew that."

Nick shook his head. "Trust me, sweetheart. You'll find out soon. The City will see to it."

"I don't have a choice, do I?" Nick chuckled. "You know what I mean, smartass."

"I do. I also know I owe you something."

"And what's tha-"

Nick swept down quickly while his nerve held and pressed his lips to hers for a heartbeat. "That's the most I can give you without tainting your judgement. When you're ready, you know how to find me," and he slipped into a shadow.

Judy was frustrated, but oddly glad of his absence. She ran the wires back to her place and wasted no time in shucking her clothes. Their tightness had grown restrictive in parallel to her nerves. Once she was out of them and into a set of pajamas and she laid in bed, her eyes were drawn to the inside of her apartment. She didn't like what she saw.

The place was shabbier than she remembered; worn, dingy, pathetic and such a perfect fit for who she had been. After her marriage ended this was all she had seen in her life. A storage locker to sleep in and her life in the office. It was all she had wanted. Now, it felt restrictive. Suffocating and hollow at the same time. It was nothing even close to what she was anymore. Her drab little life that had fit in this place was gone. In its place was a reality full of light and possibility and one possibility scared her straight out of her fur.

Even the word "commitment" made her break out in a sweat. In following the Lieutenant's advice and Clawhauser's nudges she'd let herself get close to someone. Gods help her, it felt good. It was just supposed to be for fun. Now, there was this. The leftover fears from her failed marriage had been going toe-to-toe with her attraction for a long time and now she couldn't ignore it. Everything hinged on a decision she had to make. She'd been so interested in getting her fox crush into bed that she'd forgotten to remind herself of where such things led.

The feeling of the kiss weighing against her fears chased her into a fitful sleep, which she woke from unhappily stiff and emotionally drained. Her nerves were humming with nervous tension. Her morning was a distracted blur from extricating herself from her knotted linens, all the way to the precinct. Before she got even as far as the breakroom coffee pot, she was informed that the chief wanted a word as soon as possible. As her shift hadn't started, she saw no issue in getting the impromptu meeting over with, so it wouldn't impact her work. She turned her toes towards his office with a paper cup of bad coffee in her paw.

The chief called her in when she knocked and for once was totally focused on her.

Gesturing to the sow standing opposite his desk, he made introductions. "Hopps, this is Lieutenant Swinton from IA."

The overdressed porcine turned a condescending gaze her way and sneered, "Detective Hopps. I have some questions for you."


	9. Chapter 8

"Chief? What's going on?"

She'd addressed her question to the bear, but it was the pig who answered. "Internal Affairs is taking an interest in your recent run of luck, Detective Hopps."

"Luck?"

"Yes, Detective. Luck. More accurately, the recent and significant increase in your success rate when it comes to your case work."

"I'm getting better at my job and IA suspects what, criminal competence?"

The snide humor that had colored the porcine investigator's voice so far slid away, as did her smile. "Detective Hopps, you seem to think this is some kind of joke. I assure you it's not. As of this moment you are under review by the Office of Internal Affairs. Concerns have been raised regarding your recent association with a possible criminal and the effect it could have on not only your cases, but the ZPD at large."

"If you're referring to Nicholas Wilde, I've already investigated him."

"A mammal with a vested interest conducting an investigation into their own potential partner? I'd cite the Ethics Code, but it'd be pointless."

Chief Snarlov decided that was far enough. "Special Investigator Swinton, that investigation into Wilde's past was with my authorization. We discussed this already. Wilde has no criminal record and the Ethics Code states that in such circumstances Hopps followed protocol."

"Be that as it may, Chief, IA is not convinced that under the present circumstances those clauses of the Code apply any longer."

"Then the investigation Hopps conducted should be reviewed, and I am sure your team is already paw deep, but it in no way reflects poorly on her. I would also remind you that baseless accusations are also an ethical concern."

"Don't preach to me, Snarlov. I'm investigating a possible security risk in your precinct; one you authorized. If this goes badly for Hopps, it will for you, too." Swinton then turned her ire back to the rabbit, as she collected her coat and briefcase. "Detective Hopps, this meeting is simply to inform you that you are being reviewed. You're assigned to desk duty until further notice under my authority. As this is not a formal investigation I cannot revoke your police accesses, or take your credentials. I also cannot bar you from making contact with other officers. However, I should warn you that it will reflect poorly on them if you are found to be anything but perfectly clean. So, if you care at all for their careers, stay away. We meet tomorrow, here, 9:00 am. I suggest you prepare yourself."

With that, the porcine turned on a hoof and strode haughtily for the exit. As soon as the door closed, Judy turned to her boss and asked, "Is this for real?"

"Yes, Hopps. It's for real." He gestured to the chair opposite his desk and Judy sat. "IA has taken an interest in you and your consultant. I've seen this before. It's a hazard of using non-ZPD personnel."

"This is a "hazard"? To be scapegoated for the convenience of a bored Special Investigator?"

"Watch it, Hopps. Whatever you think of IA, or Swinton, this is a very real situation for you and it will carry consequences."

"Sir, I respect all public servants, but what exactly is it that I am accused of? Keeping poor company? He's been a huge asset to every case he's been involved with!"

The chief lifted a few sheets from a stack as he spoke, seeming to search for a specific passage. "As far as IA is concerned… Here is it. He's "nothing but a liability to the city, a pathetically impeachable witness, a mark against the credibility of every officer he works with and a potential threat to the integrity of every investigation he touches." That is a direct quote from their brief, here." Letting the pages fall back into place, he turned back to the indignant rabbit. "And your pet project. Until we have an ironclad support for him in court they feel he is a risk."

"My initial assessment of him proved otherwise according to you."

"It did. That was some of the most in-depth work I've seen. I'm fairly certain it will hold up and as to what you're accused of, I thought Inspector Swinton explained that."

"What she said was I am under review, not investigation. That means there is no crime." Judy bit out her words as though she was taking chunks out of Swinton's arm with her teeth. "Her sad attempt at a veiled accusation towards my ethics was already refuted. That leaves Wilde. I did an extremely thorough investigation when I came to you in the first place and if this was genuinely about him, I'd be answering questions already. IA doesn't pull punches or allow time to prepare, even a single day. They also would have already gone over my reports on him and dug deeper before this even got as far as me. Now, what the hell is actually going on?"

A slow smile grew on the broad ursine face. "Good. That is exactly the reaction I was hoping for."

"Sir?"

"You were paying attention. You didn't let your emotions overshadow your attention to detail and you analyzed the interaction in a matter of minutes. That's damn impressive." Snarlov bit back a smile when he saw her do that head tilted to one side with one ear up and once half-cocked that asked, "what are you talking about?". It was adorable, but he knew too keep that opinion to himself. Higgins still had the limp from a comment along those lines from five years ago, after all.

"Well, thank you very much, sir, now are you going to tell me what this is about?"

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"Hopps, the situation is classified." He held up a paw to forestall her fiery retort. "That is as much as I can tell you. You need to get yourself ready to deal with what you're walking into tomorrow."

"That's it? That's all I get?"

"Yes, Hopps. That's all you get."

"In that case, do I have to be stuck here under surveillance?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Can I leave the precinct without being arrested?"

"You are free to move as you please. Take the day, if you need to."

"I will. Thank you, sir." Judy saluted her boss with as much dignity as she could muster and left.

As soon as the door closed, Chief Ivan Snarlov raked one paw over his face while reaching for his desk drawer with the other. From it he pulled a bottle of vodka and a lowball. Pouring a small measure into the glass, he shot it back in a swallow and returned the glass and bottle to the drawer. He was genuinely worried and felt he had good reason to be. Judy had always been terrible at hiding her emotions. He'd known that since they'd met. The cold fury he saw burning behind her eyes as she'd saluted him chilled him to the bone, and he lived in the Polar Straits. Whatever was about to happen, he was in the middle of it. He checked the calendar to see how far it was to retirement, finally understanding why the Commissioner had been so eager to get out of Precinct One.

Once outside the precinct, Judy took a moment to breathe. She felt a tug on her mind and let it rise, just like Nick had taught her. The city wanted something. Knowing it wouldn't stop until she gave in, she followed the summons. She didn't have time for this, but a continuing distraction would only make things worse. Best to get it out of the way. Besides, a walk wouldn't be the worst way for her to clear her mind.

Her feet carried her as she focused on the thread of the summons, leading her along. She wasn't in the mood for dealing with any more shenanigans, but the walk wasn't unwelcome. Her pace hit that perfect metronomic rhythm and her mind slipped into a near-meditative fugue. It was another little trick Nick had taught her. Rather, a refinement on thinking while you walk. She had to keep a tiny thread of her attention on the summons and trust the city to guide her safely. The rest of her mind was then free to pursue other veins of thought. Unfortunately, all she managed to focus on was a certain porcine sow, so her mood didn't lift any more than her ruminations provided her with answers. She was still too angry to turn her mind to anything useful and her walk wasn't helping.

Hours later she was soaked, irate and staring at a sign in a largely abandoned portion of the canopy in the Rainforest District. It was a road sign like many others, rough-cut signs for a dozen destinations were plastered all over it and lichen battled with moss for surface space. Nothing was legible in the least. At some point in her travels, the district irrigation system had engaged for it's routine watering. However, she'd been too deep in her meditation to react to the warning siren and only noticed when the monsoon started.

Now, she was at her destination; her totally confusing and inexplicable destination. This was what the city wanted her to see. A wet, unreadable, moss encrusted sign in the middle of a storm. Judy took a moment to collect herself before she walked away.

One good thing about running the wires was that water didn't come with her, so when she hopped into the power grid and jogged home she arrived dry. The smell of ozone bothered her less than it had, so Judy skipped a shower, simply stripping and flopping onto her bed. It was barely even noon, but she was dead on her paws and utterly, utterly disappointed.

Sleep came quickly, as did the dreams. Exams she wasn't prepared for, showing up at work naked, mazes and Duke Weaselton doing the cups hustle were the dominant offerings in her dream theater and it concluded with that damn sign. Judy's eyes popped open at 2:00am and she understood. This was her Choice. Many unkind thoughts about Nick's spectacular timing rolled through her mind as she stared at her ceiling. Then her thoughts turned to the rest of the "timing". The city had manufactured this to test her. Judy had no idea how, but that was part of the mystery, she supposed.

Mystery was seriously pissing her off.

She was up and dressed before she fully understood what she was doing, but found it convenient once she surfaced from her anger fugue. She had someone to visit and it wasn't her fox.

Minutes later, Judy stepped out of the wires and into the project where Liam resided. The climb was no less ominous this time, but she felt less exposed. Part of it was the fact that she wasn't wearing glorified lingerie, part of it was that she had an idea of what she was walking in to. Liam was exactly the same as when she'd been in the room, a day previous. The same eerie blue light permeated the room and the dust she and Nick had disturbed in their visit looked pristine, again.

Judy steeled herself and stepped into the room.

Anger and uncertainty ebbed and flowed under the surface of her mind. She had been too shocked the last time she'd been here to realize exactly how creepy the place was. The space was full of detritus and garbage, coated in dust. It looked like an abandoned office after a windstorm. However, there was also an atmosphere that Judy had only experienced on sacred ground. The last time she had visited the High Temple to the Greater and Lesser Gods there it had been at the Winter Solstice Festival three years ago. There had been a similar feeling to the air; potency and immanence, as though the Celestials themselves were present and about to manifest. The air had a similar feeling in this gritty, mold infested place. It helped blunt her ire as she crouched to eye-level with what was left of Nick's last remaining colleague.

"Liam, I'm sorry. What I am about to say isn't intended for you." Judy took a breath and looked straight into the luminous eyes that regarded her. "Damn you for this. Making me choose between my career and magic is a cruel thing. I get why you do it, but it's still cruel. That pig using Nick against me isn't really a surprise, but engineering it to happen now was unkind. To me, yes, but more so to him. You've beaten him practically to death for years and he's finally getting himself together. Now, you're forcing me to make a choice with him as collateral. I've tried to give him more than scraps and survival to look forward to. You could have let him enjoy it a little longer before dropping this on him. You aren't mammalian so you won't understand, but while I need to be tested, he did not deserve this."

As her words ended the light in Liam's eyes flashed dully. Judy didn't know what it meant, but she assumed the audience was over. As she stood, she said, "I don't know what is going to happen tomorrow, but I will not roll over and take this. I will fight until I am bloody and broken for what I want and I will damn well take it even if it means squaring off with you."

Judy stepped out of the room and vanished into the wires, leaving the filthy room and its unsettling occupant behind. Once she was gone, she couldn't see the cheeks of the aardvark's face rise in a tiny facsimile of a smile, or bear witness the one word that would have been felt more than heard as it left his withered throat.

 ** _Good._**


	10. Chapter 9

Detective Hopps was no fool. Nor was she lacking for wits. She knew going into her supposed meeting that she was going to get railroaded. Her concern wasn't avoiding it. That was an impossibility. She did, however, need to use it to her advantage. Bastards like Swinton were somewhat predictable. Big egos and positions of authority occasionally produced mammals like her. Lots of ego, no humility in the respect of their service, an unwarranted sense of invulnerability, and inferiority complexes; all elements that led even sharp mammals to get sloppy, especially when questioned, or angered.

Judy came prepared.

Throughout the meeting, which should have been properly labeled as an interrogation, her interviewer lived down to Judy's expectations in spades. Special Investigator Swinton was practically textbook for an arrogant swine, right down to the condescension that dripped off every word she directed towards her target. Fortunately, Judy was used to that. Being the only rabbit with a badge, it came with the territory. That wasn't to say it didn't bother her. In most cases it sparked an irate rant to Clawhauser, or Fangmeyer, but in this case, it just fueled her performance.

There was no actual direction to the line of inquiry being pursued during their meeting, at least not that Judy was able to discern. It seemed to be a collection of queries specifically designed to piss her off. Everything from her handling of various arrests in the previous five years to her knowledge of the sewer maintenance regulations for predominantly dromedary neighborhoods was dredged up; ancient history and closed cases abutted current events in the city infrastructure and formal protocol. It was a chaos. Through it all, Judy held her own.

The barely restrained anger had bloomed in her chest the one time she inquired after the point of a line of questioning. Being verbally backhanded as though she were a particularly dim-witted kit speaking out of turn tended to do that to her. After that, it was discipline and discipline alone that kept her from tenderizing a side of pork belly. It also made the rest of their conversation that much sweeter for what happened moments after it ended.

Final negotiations concluded, the porcine egotist left. The Chief's door was only closed for a moment before Judy was through it, hot on Swinton's heels. Now that the formal interview was over, there was little need for civility. The Chief's order to stop didn't even register.

Judy sped past her newest detractor and barred her way. "What are you hoping to accomplish?"

"I don't have time for you, Hopps."

"Off to go wallow in your success, then?" The barb was petty and, while not openly insulting, it was not a polite turn of phrase when addressed to a member of her species. It was enough to force the mask of cool superiority off her face and let the nasty out. "Or are you off to market before you scamper home?"

That one did it. "You better watch yourself, rabbit."

"Or what? You'll fabricate an investigation? It's obvious to anyone that you aren't actually looking for anything, so what do you get out of this?"

"With any luck, your resignation," she spat.

"Excuse me?" Judy asked, incredulously.

"Did I stutter?"

Seeing that she'd loosened the investigator's tongue, Judy reined in the venom, but kept her talking. "You want to fill me in on what you mean, Special Investigator Swinton?"

"It's simple, Detective Hopps." She replied as she set down her briefcase. "You're not worth keeping around. It's very impressive that you've managed as much as you have despite your small stature, but your accomplishments are nothing to brag about beyond you being the first rabbit. There are dozens of officers who have done as much or better. Doing so with a handicap makes you noteworthy, not exceptional, and we need exceptional officers, not novelties."

"And now that my success rate is improving to above the ninetieth percentile, you want to undercut me? Why? Because I'm refuting your assumptions?"

"Your success is notable since you began a close association with a flagged mammal. A fox."

"Your issue is his species? That's petty, even for IA," Judy spouted incredulously.

"His species doesn't concern me in the least," Swinton replied. "The fact that he was a vagrant, and possibly a criminal, does."

"He was neither. If you bothered to investigate at all, or review my research into him, you'd know he was a private investigator before the riots."

"Yes. I read the cover sheet from your report and my team is digging into it as we speak. Thirteen years ago, he was a licensed maverick. Three years in business and ruined after the riots. Unfortunate, but not a problem. Not until he was flagged and investigated by over two dozen officers including you."

"There were no crimes associated and he was cleared every time," Judy countered.

"Not my concern," the sow replied as she set a hip against the wall and leaned into it. "I don't care if he's a paragon of virtue. That's the regular police's problem. Mine is the fact that he's been unemployed and off the grid for over a decade other than in police reports. Now, suddenly he shows up riding your coattails. He becomes an employee of the city and your success rates skyrocket."

"He's been a major asset to my investigations."

"In what way? Where's his information coming from? How does he get it? Your answers have been vague at best. Do you really expect us to believe that a mammal who hasn't had a job in a decade has investigative skills so refined that a detective from the ZPD is learning from him? How did he get them? Where has be been honing them? You can't or won't answer because either you don't know, or you're protecting him. Now, he could just be a well-connected low-level criminal turned snitch, or an investigative savant, but you won't say which. That leaves me to wonder which is more likely? Worst case, he's a criminal conning you. That may at least leave you your job when it comes out, because your career will be over."

"And the best case?"

"Best case, he's a hobo you took pity on. This isn't a shelter, Hopps. It isn't a soup kitchen or a home for wayward failures. This is the ZPD." Levering herself off the wall and collecting her briefcase again, she made to leave. "If you want that partner of yours here, you will do what it takes to legitimize him in our eyes and prove your own worth. That, or resign and make way for real officers who will treat his job with the respect it deserves. We meet a week from Monday, 0930. That's ten days. Your chief got that for you along with whatever assets you can scrounge up. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Once Swinton was out of sight, Judy pulled her carrot pen out of her pocket and clicked the recording function off. She wanted to smile, but couldn't find it in her to celebrate just yet. As much as she hated to admit it, the pig had a point. Several points. Judy had no doubt that the file she had made for Wilde's instatement as a consultant would hold up. Chief Snarlov had been impressed and he was notoriously hard to please, let alone satisfy and IA would be thorough to the point of absurdity. However, that left her with the harder part. She had to prove her own worth, not to IA so much as Swinton herself.

Fortunately, she had a plan.

Returning to her CO's office, Judy wasted little time. "Chief Snarlov, I formally request the assistance of Officers Wolford, Lupins and Fangmeyer for the duration of this review."

The polar bear looked up as the door opened, once more admitting his smallest officer. A brow arched at her request, but he needed only a moment to reply. "Granted. Are you sure you only want those three? There are plenty of officers that would be happy to help."

"I understand and appreciate that, sir, but I want this to impact the precinct's function as little as possible."

"Commendable, Hopps, but unnecessary." The bear paused for a moment, considering the look in her eyes. "And I'm talking to a stone wall… You've already decided, haven't you?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very well. I've selected a spread of cases for you to choose from. Whatever you pick, you have ten days, so I'll give you the rest of the day to decide."

"That won't be necessary, chief." The twinkle in Judy's amatheyst eyes told the Chief all he needed to know.

"You have a case chosen, already? How? I only finished choosing them this morning."

"Not a case, sir," Judy chimed.

"Oh, for… What are you up to, Detective?" Chief Snarlov asked, not sure he wanted to know. Unfortunately, it was his job to stay inormed.

"Special Investigator Swinton specified I needed to prove my capabilities as an investigator. I intend to do just that."

"And if you don't have a case to work, how will you accomplish that?"

"I need you to trust me, sir."

"Hopps…"

"Chief, with all due respect, I am taking everything on faith, right now. I don't know what this is about, or why it's happening and you've flatly told me you can't explain further. I'm trusting you. What I am asking for is some of that trust in return."

The massive ursine wilted slightly, pinching the bridge of his muzzle. He struggled not to think about the bottle of vodka in his desk. It was brand new and untouched. He'd hoped it would remain untouched for several weeks. An old saying about hopes and smoke flitted through his mind and he groaned, "What do you propose?"

"It is clear that at times we at the ZPD must work under security-specific circumstances, including circumstances where information must be compartmentalized for various reasons." With every syllable she spoke, Judy saw the tension grow in her boss' expression. "I propose that I conduct an investigation under precisely those conditions. I will provide full documentation and witness accounts of the entire process, complete with all my findings, sources and reports, but not until the end."

"You want to fly unsupervised on an investigation that I don't know about," Snarlov rumbled.

"No, sir. You know there's an investigation underway, just not the specifics. For security reasons," the rabbit

"Is there any point in me arguing?"

"No, sir."

"You have a plan?"

"Yes, sir."

As Judy watched, the chief chewed over her words then fiddled for a moment with his computer. "Lieutenant Fangmeyer is currently at her desk, I believe. Collect her. Brief her. You have ten days, Hopps. Make me proud."

"Yes, sir!"

"Dismissed."

As soon as the door closed behind a certain cotton tail, Chief Snarlov slumped in his chair. The stress was murdering what little sanity he had left. He wanted to point out that what she was doing was highly irregular and rare, at best, but that would have been petty and mildly hypocritical of him as he was, effectively, doing the same to her. He wanted to look at the calendar to see how long it was until retirement, again, but it was too long and he was miserable enough already. He was tempted to look at the calendar to see how long it was til his vacation, but decided against it for exactly the same reason. He daydreamed for a moment about taking the rest of the day for himself and spending it with his wife. A lovely thought, but she'd want him to cook and he was not in the mood to trade one nightmare for another. Lastly, he wanted a large, stiff drink, but that was not the route to take. It would be irresponsible and he had far too much to do. Instead of any of those things, he set himself to the task of printing out and completing the mountain of forms he now needed to fill out.

Judy was only slowed down for a few minutes as she spoke to Lieutenant Fangmeyer. The email chime from the big cat's computer signaled the arrival of confirmation from the office of the Chief. That put an end to the confusion and a conference call between the two lady officers and their new temporary teammates concluded the rest. Twenty-five minutes after she left her boss's office, she had her team briefed and was on her way out the door with a scrambling tigress in tow.

"I'm assuming our double date is off, then?" Nadine asked as she caught up to her temporary team leader.

"Yes. Nick and I won't be able to go," Judy confirmed. "However, I set the rotation for you three so that you and James will have the same shifts off on Friday. As your commanding officer, I'm ordering you two to go to dinner and a movie without us. We'll find a date to reschedule, later."

"You can't do that!" the tigress sputtered.

"Try me."

"You're going to be a tyrant, aren't you?" Fangmeyer grumbled.

"Only a little, now come on,"ordered Judy, not bothering to hide her smirk.

"Where to? You haven't told me a thing!"

"I told you what you need to know," Judy continued as they walked. "You are to keep the log, monitor everything we do and be as exact with the times as you can be in every note you take."

"Oh, fine, but why are your phone and laptop in my bag?"

"I told you why." It was difficult for Judy to resist the urge to go into detail at the frustrated growl her friend released, but she shoved it aside like a team leader was expected to do.

"No. You gave me instructions, not an explanation."

Judy slowed to a stop and turned to her friend. "Naddie, I know I'm asking a lot, but I need you to trust me. Put my laptop and phone in the safe at your place as soon as you get home and notate it in your log. Have James witness it and sign off. I only have ten days to pull this off and I can't waste a second, so please, help me."

"Will I get to know what this is about at the end?"

"You'll know everything in the end. I swear on my mother's grave."

"Your mother is alive," Fangmeyer huffed in resigned exasperation.

"Then, I swear on her good health."

Golden eyes widened as the tigress took in what the bunny had just said, before she burst into laughter seconds later. "That fox has done something incredible to you, Hopps. You're cracking jokes, even when you're seriously pissed off and I can tell you are. I owe that fox a beer or sixty."

Judy wanted to say so many things in response to that. So painfully many, but there were none she would allow herself to say. She couldn't even think them without feeling her fur electrify and she couldn't afford to turn into a lightning generator just then. So many emotions and so much intensity would only give things away, or make her face truths she wasn't prepared for. She had a job to do first. Once it was done she could drown in her feelings, but not until then.

Seemingly unaware of her companion's internal upheaval, Fangmeyer asked, "So, where are we off to first?"

"We're headed to the City Central Archives, the Office of Public Records and the Free Library of Zootopia, but first we have an appointment."

"With whom?"

Judy chuckled softly before answering, "A lawyer."


	11. Chapter 10

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye, from Judy's perspective. She had managed to get everything done that she needed to. Barely. She'd sacrificed sleep, meals and probably a few years off her life to get it all done, but she had done it. She was as prepared as she could possibly be for what was about to happen. Her team was resting in the break room, enjoying a well-earned rest while she shared the chief's office with Snarlov and Swinton, of course. She was as ready as she could be.

Judy climbed onto the large central table and checked her stack of files before addressing her boss and reviewing interrogator across the table.

"I presume that your analysts have reviewed my research on Wilde and completed their investigation, Special investigator?"

The sow rolled her eyes and huffed a breath before replying, "Yes. He's as clean as you claimed and fit to continue as your consultant as far as we are concerned. Your pet is safe."

Ignoring the petty jab, Judy continued, "Good. Of course, you are aware, therefore of the potential civil rights case he could bring against the department?"

"What?!", Snarlov and Swinton exclaimed in unison.

Now, she had them off balance. Time to up the pressure. Lifting the first of several files from her stack, she flipped it open and checked her notes. "In the course of my investigation, I discovered that not only has he never committed a crime, but has been arrested or brought in for questioning numerous times with no reason stated other than "fox". I am sure you are aware that such actions on the part of the arresting officers constitutes a gross violation of his rights as a citizen in the form of overt harassment based on nothing but his species. If he chooses to, he could bring civil action against the city and the ZPD, as well as every officer who has arrested him. That could amount to a hefty sum in damages." Judy tapped her pen against her file, pretending to consider the implications. "But that is something for City Hall and the legal office to handle _if_ it comes up. Let's move on."

Swinton's bravado reasserted itself, if shakily, as the file in Judy's paw was set aside. "To where you show you're an investigator, I presume."

"Exactly."

"And what, pray, have you investigated, Detective Hopps?"

Judy smiled sweetly at the offensive porcine. "You."

"Excuse me?" came the sow's incredulous reply, as Chief Snarlov choked on his coffee.

Judy wished she had a camera. "You, Swinton. I investigated you."

"You dare!" Swinton shouted as she stood.

Iron crept into Judy's voice. "Shut up and sit down, you miserable sow, or I won't waste my time telling you what I found out. I can just go to the media."

"Hah! Go ahead. I'm clean as a whistle."

"You're right. I found no criminal activity anywhere," Judy conceded.

"There! You see? Pointless," Swinton snapped triumphantly.

"I never said you didn't have secrets…" There was a tense pause and Swinton sat, obviously weighing her options. "For instance, your cousin, Alestaire. He has a neurological disorder, doesn't he?"

Any other thoughts were blasted from the pig's mind. "How did you find out about that?"

"Not important. What is important is you signed a petition four days ago in support of research into rarer neurological illnesses and their treatments, didn't you?" Judy handed over a photo. "Here's a picture from the signing. Did you think to look at the mammal offering it to you? It was me."

The shock in her expression was so intense it had a flavor. "You!"

"As was the valet at your meeting with Councilmammal Whickers at the Bordeau Hotel the following day," Judy calmly continued as she offered another photo. "See?"

"Ha- How?" Swinton sputtered, planting her hooves on the table top and leaning forward to get a better angle.

"And the waiter at your dinner with District Attorney Clopmeister, at Le Poisson Rouge, last night." Another photograph settled in front of the bewildered porcine.

Each picture showed Judy in some form of mild disguise. Clothing, fur color, eyes; all were small differences, but in each picture Judy was clearly recognizable once they knew what to look for. She continued to lay out pictures of events from the previous week, pointing herself out in each picture, until the room was dead silent. Both the Chief and Swinton were slack-jawed. Judy had more than a dozen examples of her presence in Swinton's life entirely undetected.

Judy paused after the last one to allow the reality of it to sink in. "Now, I'm sure you want to know why I did this. The answer is simple. I had to learn about each of these events in order to be present at the times. Everything from your Wednesday coffee run to your favorite hole in the wall, to that lovely date with your boyfriend on Sunday at the park. I had to learn about it all from my investigations."

"How do we know it was just you?" Swinton choked out. "That fox-"

Judy cut in, "Nicolas Wilde was absent from my presence the entire time. From the moment I left the Chief's office last Friday until now, I have had at least one officer with me at all times, fully awake and tasked with the sole duty of observing me and my movements." Judy then procured a set of log books, one from each officer, and handed them over. "In here you will find a to-the-minute account of my movements for all the time from 2:37pm Friday to this meeting. 236 hours, 53 minutes in total. In all that time, I was observed round the clock and often under either the city traffic and CCTV cameras, or the live recorded feeds inside the ZPD. You can check. My consultant has remained absent and out of touch since."

"You could have-," was as far as Snarlov got.

Judy raised her paw to forestall the immanent flood of what-ifs. "Upon leaving my briefing with the you, Chief, I had a meeting with my team. After which, I texted Wilde once to tell him not to try to contact me in any way. Since then, my phone and computer have been locked in Lieutenant Fangmeyer's home safe. The security company that monitors the safe security system will verify that it hasn't been opened. Therefore, he hasn't called, texted, or emailed me. The boys in IT can confirm, if you wish. I'll willingly submit my devices and records for their review."

The two other mammals in the room goggled at the rabbit's assertion.

"Officers Fangmeyer, Wolford and Lupins can vouch for the fact that he hasn't been in my presence either, if you care to inquire. Before you ask, I went to the washroom only in the company of Lieutenant Fangmeyer, as well. The logs will confirm that. He has not been in touch with me in any way."

The chief finally found his voice. "So, this was all you? Every shred of this report was just you?"

"And grunt investigative work, too," Judy added before holding up a digit. "But wait! It gets better." The near identicallooks of dread she got were priceless. "I did some analysis. It's just a shot in the dark, but from the mammals you've been meeting with and the times, it looks to me like you're doing more than positioning for that post in the DA's office. I think you're going political."

Swinton managed a weak, blustering laugh. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do." At this point, Judy opened up her sorcerous senses to the full and read the sow. This was going to be fun. "I think you're hoping to discredit me with this witch hunt so you can go after the Mammal Inclusion Initiative. Destroying the career of a high-profile officer would look good for you in IA and make you a good candidate for the DA job."

The truth of her words was visible in the black pall and disbelief that shrouded her target. Taking heart, she pressed on. "Once you're in the DA's office you can hit the MII. That would look very appealing to the arch-conservative politicos like Clopmeister and Wickers, making you a good candidate for the mayoral election in, oh, 5 years. Once in office, you can fund that research you're so interested in. You know, for your cousin."

Judy slid another pair of pictures across the table; one Swinton recognized as her desk, the other was a newspaper clipping of her as a piglet hugging a slightly older boar with a vase in her hoof. "The one who gave you that little hoof-made vase when you were seven and you won the spelling bee. The one that you keep on your desk. That's what this is about, isn't it? Helping the one member of your family you care about by any means you can."

The silence stretched as the significance of the situation sank in. Judy let it build for a minute before standing and plucking all the pictures from the sow's hooves. Under the flabbergasted gaze of the pig and bear, she walked to the end of the table with all her papers in tow, flicked on the paper shredder and slowly fed the pile into it until the last of it was gone.

"Hopps, what are you doing?" The Chief asked in uncomprehending awe.

"I am disposing of an illegal file, sir. All that personal information was collected legally, but, as it is not relevant to a criminal investigation, it is illegal for it to be kept by the ZPD. I have rectified the situation."

Swinton finally found her voice, though there was a obvious struggle to maintain an even tone. "Then what was the point? Why do that? There was enough in that file to end my career!"

"So? Why would I care about that?" Judy savored the blank stares from both mammals. "I'm not like you, Swinton. I'm not interested in ripping others down to get what I want. I did that all to make a point."

"I think you made it," Snarlov croaked out.

"No... Respectfully Chief, I think I need to clarify. My point isn't that the information exists. The point is I found it." At this point Judy had to take a major risk. She was prepared for it, but butterflies still filled her gut as she walked across the table top and popped her badge off her belt.

Laying it down in front of her boss and the IA special investigator, she said, "There's the badge you wanted from me. You have a choice. You can either hand it back to me and let me use my skills, the ones that unearthed all those secrets, for the good of the city as a part of the ZPD, or you can dump it in a desk drawer and tell me to fuck off." The rabbit squared her shoulders, folded her arms across her chest and gazed directly at the sow. "Now, you know how good I am and I am absolutely certain I will find a use for those skills. The question is whether it'll be here, where I might be… directed, or loose in the city making my own way. Your call."

Judy stood firm as she watched her boss' paw reach out and take up her shield. _The one thing she had of value in life._ As soon as that thought passed through her head, the image of Nick came to mind. It was a small, but significant, realization. Her badge was not the only thing she valued and she hadn't been bluffing about making her own way. It would take work, but she could set up a private investigation service, or work for the private sector. There were always mammals who would pay for skills like the ones she had. Either way, she could help and Nick would be there. That took the sting out of watching her boss pick up her badge and move his paw, not towards her, but his pocket.

Judy nodded and hopped down from the table top, heading for the door. There was no point belaboring the issue.

Twenty minutes later, Judy was grinning smugly outside the Chief's office. She'd left a very subdued pig and an awestruck polar bear alone in the room to recover from their meeting. Her grin deepened when she heard glass on glass and liquid pouring. Twice. Apparently, she'd done a good enough job that the Chief had broken out his emergency vodka, and even stretched to sharing it with Swinton. Not that Judy blamed them. Snarlov needed a nip and Swinton would need a couple bottles to ease the burn.

She was extra pleased that she heard the gruff polar bear through the door, saying, "I'm glad she's on our side…" However, that was neither here nor there. Judy had better things to do with her time. For a start, she had a week off to enjoy and, more urgently, she had to find out why everyone was running around.

The level of activity wasn't high enough to indicate an emergency, but it was far higher than usual for a Friday afternoon. There were no major events scheduled or visiting notables in the city, so Judy was at a loss. As no one seemed to have the time to stop and she wasn't about to delay a mammal on urgent business, Judy made for the best source of information she knew: Clawhauser.

At the front desk, the portly felid was working his usual magic on the dispatch, tracking and relay systems while tossing back baked treats. However, the treats were being consumed slower and his fingers were moving faster than typical, which was all the reason Judy needed to up her level of concern.

"Ben! What's going on?" Judy asked as she slipped behind the desk.

"What do you mean, what's go- Oh… You've been on assignment. Right…"

"Clawhauser… if you don't mind?"

"Sorry! Sorry. While you were on assignment, there was a huge earthquake off the coast. It was a long way out, so we've had time to evacuate the aquatic populace, but it's been a huge ordeal."

"Wait!" Judy was instantly on alert, understanding now why there was so much activity. Patrols would have been working around the clock to evacuate and reasure frightened mammals all over the city. With something this big, it was simply shocking that she hadn't heard about it sooner. "We've evacuated the citizens, but what about the city? What kind of damage are we expecting to the infrastructure? What'll happen when the shockwave and tsunami make land?"

Clawhauser's ears drooped and he shook his head. "We don't know. The experts estimate flooding and debris for a start, but we have no way of knowing."

Judy was out the door before the desk sergeant finished his third syllable.

She didn't need to hear the rest. In absence of facts, there was only one position to take; pure pragmatism. Plan for the worst, hope for the best. Planning for the worst meant severe damage to the city. Damage to the city meant damage to those connected to it. She knew she would likely hurt from it, but whatever was about to happen, Nick would take the brunt of it.

Images of her fox slowly decaying into city detritus or burned to a husk flooded her mind. To protect his city he would give everything, including himself. She was not about to let that happen. Not after everything she'd been through. She was not about to lose him on the heels of saving his scraggly ass. At this point she couldn't imagine life without him.

Time slowed and she accelerated as the admission she'd been keeping buried slipped out. In the face of her fear of losing him her hang-ups ceased to matter, leaving the clear, simple truth exposed. He had waited for her, cared, supported and been unconditionally patient with her. She was not going to let that disappear because of a threat to her city, let alone her own petty issues. Nothing else mattered. She was only a novice sorcerer, but if there was anything she could do to protect or help him, she would do it. Even if it meant following him into the dark.

Sprinting around a corner, Judy opened her senses to their fullest and found a blind spot. Less than a second later, she was in the wires and searching desperately for her fox.

Elvira Swinton let herself into her condo in the Meadowlands just after six that evening. She'd had a day she couldn't describe. There weren't words to for the day she'd had. Reality had been bent back on itself and then melted around her.

Her phone chimed and she glanced at the screen.

 _Livvie, let me know what to pick up for dinner. I'll be at the market in fifteen minutes. If I don't hear from you, I'll wing it._

She trusted her boar to figure food out on his own and turned back to trying to find a handle on any part of her catastrophe.

She had been trounced. Viciously.

That rabbit had taken her attempt to rid the ZPD of dead weight and turned it on its head. Instead of trimming fat, she'd unearthed a titan; a tiny, grey monster that had utterly wrecked her. Morally, ethically, conceptually… The implications of what Detective Hopps had pulled off were almost incomprehensible. Rather, they had been.

The further she considered, the more Livvie Swinton, future mayor of Zootopia was convinced that the rabbit would be an incredible asset. If only she could figure out how to harness her. That brought the semi-shell-shocked porcine to consider the contents of her purse.

Within the confines of her neat little silk bag was an object Hopps had given her in parting with the instruction to play it only in private. "A personal matter" had been the rabbit's turn of phrase. Livvie opened the purse and found herself distressed at her level of apprehension. A novelty carrot pen should not have intimidated her. Yet, it did.

Five minutes later, she believed she should have been terrified, in retrospect. The entirety of the conversation was there. She'd never even suspected it. The contents of that pen were enough to end her career on accusations of abuse of power, alone.

Now, she was convinced. She had to possess Hopps and she would do whatever it took to do so. She was in deep disregard as far as the rabbit was concerned, she was sure, but that was just a starting point. She was a politician. If she couldn't win over Detective Hopps, she had no business trying to become mayor.

Confidence in her destiny restored, Livvie lifted her phone and started making calls. Undercutting the rabbit had set her at a deficit as far as the smallest ZPD officer was concerned. If she was to win her over, making amends was the first step. There were few ways she knew of to even start that process, but there were mammals she knew who could point her in the right direction.

An hour later Boris Swineley walked in on his little gilt. She was on the phone, obviously a conference call. The look on her face was one he loved. She was working on something big. He loved his little 'Porkchop' and knew she would do amazing things. Smiling quietly, he slipped into the kitchen and started cooking.

Just as Boris was finished plating the food he had prepared, he heard stirring in the next room that indicated that the call had ended. The look of satisfaction on the face of on her lovely face told him everything. Livvie was pleased with herself and, judging by the twinkle in her eyes as she looked over the meal before meeting his gaze, with him as well. He did so love when things went her way.


	12. Chapter 11

A/N:

Sooooo... This chapter was delayed a lot. I blame the flu kicking my tail for about three weeks of it and writer's block for the rest. That said, sorry for the wait. I hope it's worth it. On we go!

* * *

Fear is a funny thing.

Soldiers, emergency responders and officers of the law are trained to handle it; channeling or discarding it in favor of staying alive on the battlefield or saving lives in an emergency. There are rules, techniques and endless scenarios that are called upon. Judy had trained in as many as her schedule and her CO's allowances permitted. However, in her current situation, Judy came to realize two simple facts.

The first was that she was in a situation she couldn't have ever trained for. How could she have even conceived of this situation, let alone trained for it? Searching the city for a fox, so she could prevent him from overworking himself to death, while racing through the electrical grid like a stricken lightening bolt? There was no class for that.

The second was a lesson she'd been taught so many times but never thought she'd be in a position where it would be relevant to her. She never got close to people. Coworkers aside, she had few friends. No husband. No kits.

No longer.

Now, Judy understood.

When it was someone you cared about, it didn't matter how hard you trained, or how much you thought you were prepared. Rational thought went out the window. That wasn't to say, however, that she wasn't thinking.

Judy skittered through the wires at the speed of her own synapses, leaping from place to place across the city. As she ran, she wracked her brain for anyplace Nick might be. Without leaving the wires, she looked in on his favorite hangouts; the little kebab shop by the precinct, the strange footbridge by the warehouse district and the taqueria where they had danced were all checked in the space of as many heartbeats. The rest of the city followed, right down to the graveyard where the Memoria had passed through and even the construction site where she had gotten her first taste of what he really was.

Nothing.

In each district, she let her senses roam, but not a trace of the fox was anywhere she looked. Nowhere is the city at all. Judy was getting frantic. Nothing in the RD, Tundratown, The Square, city center, or Meadows. The Nox, Bayou and Docks were cleared next. Judy leapt out of the wires in the Alpine district, trembling. She didn't know what else to do; where else to look. While she'd been busy protecting her career, she'd neglected him and now he was gone.

Horrid possibilities inserted themselves into her mind at every opportunity. Imagined scenarios popped into her awareness and had spurred her frantic search to the edge of mania. She kept seeing her fox dead in her mind's eye; burned from the inside out by magic overload, or vacant and staring like Liam. Each possibility was more horrible and more crushing than the last and every one would have been preventable if she had just stayed with him.

Feverishly, she scrolled through her memory. All the places, every neighborhood she'd searched, filling in a mental map of the city. There were no blank spaces. Just the climate wall bars separating the Districts.

It dawned on her.

When preparing for an accident, there is one thing that is most important to protect. The spine. The backbone of the city was its walls. The incoming shockwave was comparable to a truck about to tram the city, so where else would the only city sorcerer be, but safeguarding its backbone? Ignoring the rest of the city's structure, Judy reached out to the walls that abutted the base of the mountains she stood on. Seconds later she found him and all that was left of her on the mountainside was ozone.

Seconds later, though it felt like years, her paws found concrete again, but only for a moment. Her foot touched only long enough to launch herself bodily at the flabbergasted fox as he stood, sipping a soda through a crazy straw. Both the soda and straw went sailing over the side of the maintenance walkway he stood on as they collided.

"Carrots! What-!"

Her arms wrapped around his neck, tighter than she probably realized. "Nick! Are you ok?"

"I'm-"

"I'm so sorry I disappeared!"

"It's-"

"What can I do?" she asked with fervent sincerity.

"L-"

Pulling back just enough to look him over, she ran her paws over his head, shoulders and chest. "Are you hurt?"

"Wh-"

"Answer me!" she huffed impatiently.

Two red paws clamped over her jaws stemming Judy's machinegunned questions. A moment of flailing and confusion ended when she saw the nonplussed expression of the fox upon whom she was seated. Once she stopped twitching and blinked expectantly a couple times, he spoke.

"I'll answer in the order you asked. Fine, just a little tired. Your text from a week ago was very explanatory of your absence. Let me up and, why, yes, my ribs are sore from where a bunny cannonball hit me a few seconds ago. Now, will you behave and let me up?"

Judy nodded a little sheepishly and was rewarded with having her head released. She dismounted her companion and helped him to his feet, while trying and failing to surreptitiously check him for injuries. He looked rough. Nowhere near as bad as he had been when he'd knocked over a building to prove a point, though. His clothes were stained and a bit worn, but not ratty. He had bags under his eyes instead of steamer trunks and the set of his shoulders didn't have his old stress, even if they were riding higher than she liked.

"Hopps, do you want to just give me a once over so you can stop panicking?"

"Am I being that obvious?"

"Excruciatingly," the fox chortled. "I'm not hurt and while I'm glad to be missed so enthusiastically, I have to wonder what set you up for such an extreme presumption."

"Sorry, what?"

"What made you think I was hurt, rabbit?"

"I heard about the earthquake…" Judy began, feeling somewhat subdued.

Understanding dawned on the fox and he smirked down at the bunny. "And assumed I'd be doing something insane to protect the city, yes?"

"Yes." The more she thought about it, the more Judy realized she'd only been working herself up based on her assumptions, not evidence. She didn't even try to hide the embarrassed blush that suffused her face. "You aren't, are you?"

"Something like pulling enough of the city into myself to become an eldritch colossus and smite the incoming shockwave before it can cause wreck and ruin?" Seeing her wringing her paws with eyes the size of dinner plates made him feel a little guilty for winding he up. But only a little. "I'm not, Carrots. Deep breath."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Well, now, we're having an awkward conversation dancing around what you're actually curious about before I ask about your conversation with the Chief and that Swinton character."

"You knew?" She blinked up at him, surprised.

In response, Nick held up a finger. "Prior to you appearing like a panicked bullet, I was enjoying a soda and waiting for the wave to hit."

Now, Judy had a quandary. There were two lines of questioning she needed to pursue, but she only could handle one at a time. Police procedure usually dictated that the most urgent took priority and, in this case, she agreed. However, she was not pleased at the implications of the second. "I'm assuming that the city is safe, then?"

"You already know the answer to that," he replied.

"You wouldn't be so relaxed if there was a threat."

"This isn't the first earthquake to hit the city," Nick explained. "Old news."

"So what did you do?" she asked, curiosity peaked.

"The city is designed to handle events like these; fail-safes and redundancy systems all over. All I did was reinforce the Walls and safeguard a few of the more sensitive points of the infrastructure. In a few hours the waters will recede, the cleanup crews will move in and then life will be back to normal with minor property damage and a little inconvenience being the worst of the damage, all billed to City Hall and applied to the Emergency Events Fund."

Judy felt ridiculous. He was right, of course.

The brow he arched at her emphasized her over reaction. He was anything but stupid and she had no reason to believe that he was suicidal. "Did you really believe I was going to do something like that?"

Judy crossed her paws and eyed him. "The first night we went out together, you knocked over a building to prove a point."

The fox at least had the decency to look a little sheepish. "Fair point. Though, I would like to point out that I was also showing off a little."

"You don't say…"

"Did it work?"

She rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling. "You certainly accomplished the showing off part."

"Oh, come on. You were impressed."

"How could I not be? That, however, isn't the point." Nick raised an eyebrow at the pointed shift in conversation. "How did you know I was in a meeting with the Chief and that pig?"

Nick shrugged. "Your text told me to stay away after I told you I'd give you some space. It was a little out of character, so I checked in, quietly."

Long ears perked in surprise. She hadn't noticed him around at any point. "When?"

"When you were talking to Nads," Nick explained while Judy attempted to cover her laughter with a cough.

"It's Officer Fangmeyer until she gives you permission to call her anything else."

"Then, I'll have to wait until our double date, won't I?" Nick waggled his brows.

Her ears turned red. "That depends. I may have to suspend those privileges depending on how the rest of this goes."

"I knew it!" he announced dramatically, throwing his paws into the air. "You're tired of me already."

"What? NO! I haven't even…" Judy saw him fighting not to laugh at her reaction and slugged him in the shoulder. "Jerk. I'm not sure I'm happy with you spying on me."

"First off, ow!" Nick said as he rubbed his shoulder. "Secondly, I didn't spy on you. I checked in on you, but once I saw you weren't hurt I backed off. I heard your masterful abuse of position in forcing Naddie and her new boyfriend out on their first date. Well done."

"Hang on. They really did?"

"Exactly as ordered," Nick confirmed

"I couldn't expect more, I suppose." Judy nodded her head, somewhat mollified. That was, until Nick held up a claw.

"I said they went out as ordered. The night didn't end as ordered, even remotely."

"They didn't…"

"They didn't."

Judy punched him, again. "Tease."

Nick flinched, rubbing his arm this time. "You have no idea, but I never said it didn't end well. Naddie Fangmeyer had been waiting for that goodnight kiss for a long, long time. When she got it, it quickly got out of paw…"

"You better not have spied on their evening together."

As Judy side-eyed him, Nick held up his paws innocently. "Believe it or not, the City herself sent me to avert a small issue or two on their evening out."

"She didn't…"

"She didn't," he assured her. Judy wasn't sure, but his ears may have gotten a little redder as he continued. "Ahem, but I did make sure the sprinklers didn't soak them on their walk after dinner. There might also have been a voucher for a wine tasting on a RD dirigible flight for that night only that may or may not have found its way into Greg's mailbox that morning."

"You are such a sap."

"Tell that to the claw marks on Fangmeyer's front door." Judy's slack-jawed look of delight had him grinning in turn for the results of his efforts. "I told you it got out of paw."

"What happened?"

"A gentlemammal doesn't speak of such things." Nick replied with an attempt at a snooty, upper-class accent.

"It's a good thing I know you aren't one, then." Judy snarked back.

"Madam, you offend! I am a gentlemammal of the first water."

"You can be. You're also a first class jerk and a complete tease when you in the mood, Now drop the act and tell me how it went!"

"You really care about your coworkers, huh?"

"I care about my friends, yes. well?"

"I only checked in as I could during the night, but I caught a few good highlights. The winetasting loosened them up enough that they left the dirigible ride holding paws. I missed dinner, but caught them trading bites from their desserts." NIck grinned down at her. "Feeding each other. So cute."

Judy squealed. "What next" what next?"

"Are you the gossip queen of the precinct or something?"

"That's Clawhauser, no give!"

Nick sighed and smiled. "Alright, alright. After dinner, they went for a walk in the RD. I tampered with the timers to give them an extra couple minutes to get out of the way before the hourly rain."

"Sap."

"Shut up." Judy stuck out her tongue and Nick rolled his eyes before continuing. "Everything went swimmingly until he got her back to her front door. Did you know she owns a townhome?"

"Yes, I did, now get to the good part!"

"I believe they'd been teasing each other throughout their walk home. Something about canid and felid dating customs, but it came to a head at her door. She said something about, and I quote, "Wolfies needing a girl to do all the work". Then, he reached up and pulled her into a kiss that surprised her quite a lot."

"He didn't."

"He did. He's a pretty good kisser from what I saw. She grabbed the door frame to steady herself as her knees gave out and peeled a few gouges out of the wood. When he broke the kiss, he said "that's just to get us started. We're pretty aggressive once we know it's welcome." She seemed to like that."

"What did she say?"

"It's welcome."

Judy was hopping for glee and squealing. "What next?"

"Nothing."

"What?"

"I didn't stay for the makeout session. I felt creepy as it was seeing that much."

Judy could only shake her head. In a few short minutes, her panic had turned to good humor. The relief was sweet, but not without its drawbacks. In the absence of her fear, Judy knew it was only a matter of time until Nick worked out what it meant. If she stopped lying to herself, he probably already knew. He'd been miles ahead of her at every step. She was just starting to realize it and appreciate his patience and discipline when he demonstrated it again.

"So… How was work?" he asked, deftly turning the conversation away from himself.

Her eyeroll was adorable to him and accompanied by a groan that bespoke of ultimate suffering. A gross overstatement, perhaps, but her hamming it up made it feel theatrical enough to fit the film.

"That's your segue?" Judy grouse around a bemused smile. "Couldn't you be mildly serious?"

"Inconceivable."

"Oh, fine… It was work," she replied with a shrug.

"Really?"

Judy smiled and hummed her satisfaction at irritating him in turn. "You started it."

"Then, I'll ask the relevant question." His expression became serious as he asked her, "Is it still Officer Hopps?"

"It is!" Judy crowed triumphantly.

"Is it Detective Hopps?"

"Most definitely."

"If you're still Detective Sergeant after all this, I'm jumping." One foot raised, he pantomimed going over the edge of the wall.

Judy snorted at him, nose twitching slightly with amusement. "You'd land safe and sound, so big whoop."

"Will you just spill, already?" he asked insistently, playing it up for her. The giggle and a wide grin he got told him he did something right.

"How much do you know?"

"IA, pig, load of BS," he counted off on his fingers. "The punchline, please?"

"For one thing, It's not Detective Sergeant. I am now Detective Lieutenant Hopps of the Interpol Task Force," she reported proudly.

"My, my… Moving up in the world, aren't we?"

"I wasn't finished," she chastised him lightly by waggling a finger at him. The rabbit then straightened to her full, diminutive, height, hands on her hips and shoulders back. "I am now Detective Lieutenant Hopps _head_ of the Interpol Task Force."

The look of shock on his face was picture perfect. "You're what?"

"You heard me. _My_ task force."

"Don't those go to Captain, or higher?"

"My captaincy is contingent on six months of successful work at the helm. Someone finally decided to give a little guy a real chance to lead. It just came with a big, fat load of cross-checking and a pathetic attempt by an IA special investigator to push her personal political agenda. I am on 100% probation for the duration of this command, but if they think they're getting rid of me after all this, they can kiss my fluffy little tail."

"Wow, fluff…" he began, voice cracking. "Congratulations." So many expressions flitted across his face that Judy had a hard time separating them all, but she didn't need to. Opening her senses, she read his aura and winced slightly at what she saw there. There was genuine happiness for her, though it was overwhelmed by something close to despair.

Judy's ears fell to half-mast as she leaned forward to meet his gaze. "Now, why do you look so sad? It's not like I'm going anywhere."

"You made your Choice."

"I did, but not the one you're assuming."

"Oh?" A tiny ray of hope curled through him, despite all attempts to suppress it.

"I fought like hell for my job, yes, but it was with you as my partner on the books. I'm not doing this job without you."

"That is a relief. I've rather gotten used to getting a paycheck." The attempt at a joke fell flat at their feet and the forced chuckle came out sounding like a croak.

"I'm still not finished." It was heartbreaking to see the assumptions clouding around him; loss, resignation, loneliness. All things he knew well and expected back at his doorstep the moment she gave him the final blow. He didn't see how she would ever choose him and she hadn't, as far as he saw it. She felt cruel for going about it in this way, but she deserved a little payback for his endless teases and remonstrations for patience. Her patience was at an end.

Before he could start closing himself off she grabbed the lapels of his shirt and yanked him down. His paws reached for the railings to catch himself, leaving him wide open for a crushing kiss. Gone was her fear and hesitance. She knew what she wanted and he was damn well going to get that here and now. She opened herself completely and put everything she had into the press of lips.

Nick wanted to react, to do anything, really, but his mind was taking messages. He was too busy being overwhelmed by a tsunami. The shockwave made landfall when their lips met and Nick knew which was the greater force of nature to be reckoned with. Whatever darkness had been in her was gone and he was finding out firsthand how strong she was. Their lips parted and one dip of her tongue had him hooked.

His brain melted.

When she pulled away, he was on his knees, holding the now partly melted railings for support. It pleased her to see his fur really was sparking.

"While I have your attention, there are three things you should know. One I know foxes mate for life culturally, not by nature, so I know it was a bluff. Two, you make a lot of assumptions. Three…" Judy held his face so they were eye to eye. Her gaze bore through him like a diamond drill. "I made my choice. I'll have my badge and my magic." She kissed him again; a crushing, bruising expression of how serious she was and, she hoped, enough to convince him. Breaking the kiss, she pulled him down hard and growled into his ear, "And I'll have you. Now, come and get me."


	13. Chapter 12

Lawrence Ramsbottom sat at his control panel and wanted to cry. He thought he'd have a fairly easy time of it working for the city after he graduated. For the first couple years, it'd been great! Easy work maintaining the power grid and monitoring any surges or failures. The hardest part had been during a couple larger storms, but not a huge deal. Easy, steady employment and a city pension in twenty years. Then, a few months ago, the anomalies had started. Random surges and outages started happening haphazardly around the city. Seemingly spontaneous, they always occurred right around his shift ending and he'd had to log a lot of overtime thanks to the policy of "shit happens on your watch, you stay until it's fixed" that his manager enforced.

The trouble was that there was no fixing these issues most of the time. They appeared and vanished all on their own. His boss didn't see it that way, however, and now little Larry Ramsbottom was seriously up shit's creek. He was under investigation for fraudulent overtime, despite the logs and records the system kept of the events, for one thing. He was also so agonizingly close to suspension after being unable to fix any of these issues that he may as well just quit and save himself the indignity of termination. However, Karma, for whatever reason, decided he needed one last good kick in the teeth.

Thirteen minutes to the end of his shift, the entire city grid went haywire just as the director of Mammal Resources, his supervisor and manager, as well as the director of Planning and two members of the City Council were coming through on the tail end of their annual tour. It was the largest anomaly he'd seen to date.

It started small, but quickly escalated. Within a few minutes the city looked like it was having a light switch rave. Every light was cascading, blinking or otherwise freaking out. The boulevards in Tundratown were in full yule-display mode, Sahara Square was doing a district-wide imitation of Awards Night for the Theater Guild, there was enough lighting in the Alpine District to land a jumbo jet safely on a mountaintop and the docks looked like something from a Noir style film. The rest of the Districts were equally chaotic.

Larry had tried to get a handle on it, as did his superiors and anyone else they could get a hold of. There was nothing for it, though. The monitoring system was crying. Every dial on the board was waving back and forth like it was saying goodbye to him and just to add to the madness, the usage and balancing software showed everything in the green. The city power grid lost its fuzzy little mind long enough for the whole department to go into full blown panic and then, just like magic, it stopped.

The grid rebalanced, the fail-safe protocols took the excesses and shunted them to the browned-out areas, and less than two minutes later the city was back to rights. You could have heard a pin drop. Larry looked around. The control room was full of very scared, very confused and highly upset mammals in various stages of wondering "what the buttery blue fuck just happened?"

There were hours of diagnostics ahead of them. The whole system would need to be gone over with a fine-toothed comb and some kind of answer would need to be found. Larry knew there wouldn't be one. There never was, but that wasn't his concern. Either he was going to be fired in a moment, or they'd see that it wasn't his fault and he wasn't lying, leaving him very much out of the hot water. Larry took out a coin and sent it end over end through the air as he waited for anyone to speak.

Judy fled through the wires at the speed of lightning. If she were visible to the eye, one would say she looked excited, anticipatory; possibly expectant. To anyone else that would have been a bizarre expression considering what pursued her. To her, it was about fucking time!

She was being chased through the wires. The hunter on her trail was a huge, hungry, powerful presence; the stuff of legends and the horror stories of her childhood regarding predators. She was being hunted, but she was leading her pursuer a merry chase, partly because she was a little nervous about what would happen to her once he caught her, but mostly because she wanted a little revenge.

Patience had been the byword of many, many weeks.

Patience.

 _Patience_.

 **Patience**.

Judy was sick to death of the word, the act, the idea. All of it. She'd been patiently working her way towards something part consciously, part unwittingly, and now all the pretense and supposition, uncertainty and self-delusion were over. She wanted him and he damn sure wanted her. Now, he had to catch her and she was going to make her fox work for it.

Judy sprinted.

It was one of her species' specialties. Hard, fast straight-aways mixed with sudden changes in direction. It had served her and her species through the dark times before sentience and assured that enough of them survived being hunted long enough to breed, thereby ensuring the survival of the species. It was an ironic twist that, now, the very mammal she would have fled from in fear, she now baited using the same tricks for exactly the opposite point that led her species to such prodigious numbers. The irony was not lost on Judy as she left the wires in the middle of an abandoned office building and fled down the hall on foot.

Her pursuer was hot on her heels.

Judy ducked into an office and dove into the nearest wall socket, feeling him pounding along behind her at every step. She was exhilarated. Flying along, she wracked her brain for any way to extend their game. She also wanted a small chance to regain her breath. Making a sudden direction change at a transformer, she left the wires again and jogged onto an open pathway by the river.

Dozens of mammals were out; families, couples and solo mammals out for exercise or enjoying the day in the riverside park. They thought nothing of the rabbit that jogged quickly past, grinning like a loon. Even if they did notice the pheromone trail she left in her wake, she was a bunny. The stereotype was enough for them to dismiss her as a non-event. A randy rabbit on her way to her boyfriend's place was hardly of note. However, in dismissing her they missed the form that slipped along in her wake.

Realizing what she was about, Nick played along at first; chasing through the electrical grid, hungrily eager to end their playing, but it quickly became apparent that this was no small game to her. Each time he got a scent of her, the pheromones were stronger. This was not just to teach him a lesson or tease him. This was the beginning; the appetizer. He grinned as he realized how close she had paid attention at the club when they had gone. She was playing, yes, but this was something else.

For them, this was foreplay.

She baited and led him at first, but two could play the game. She could lead and misdirect, while he could anticipate and adapt. There was also the fact that he was much more experienced at magic. Her talent lay in the wires and electricity, but he had far more tricks up his sleeve. As soon as they were in the park, he slipped into the shadows and ghosted along. He made sure she saw him behind and beside her as she trotted along, then appeared in front of her; flowing along the ground in a space-eating lope.

Judy's smile became a maniacal grin as she made a sharp turn and dodged into a corner shop. She was sparks and giggling a moment before he followed her, bathing in her scent as he moved.

Time meant something different in the wires. Everything happened at the speed of lightning, so every dodge, roll, evasion, fake out and sudden turn happened in fractions of seconds, while outside the wires time somehow seemed to move faster. In the wires it was a dead heat; outside, a game of shadows and evasion. Judy had never felt more alive. They flew along, hiding for instants in breakers, leaping from pole to pole and racing through the city. Then they were playing predator and prey; her dodging and leaping as she ran, while he danced through the shadows.

Judy knew they were playing havoc with the city's power, but she didn't care overmuch. Arcing through the air for the briefest moment, she noticed that she was near the university campus. The party that was going on to their light show would have been a must-attend when she was in school. Now, she just grinned a little wider and hared off, trying to stay ahead of the fox that chased her.

Eventually, Judy started tiring. The city was in chaos and she was done waiting. She flowed out of the lighting fixture in her room and was immediately pinned to the wall by a pair of red paws.

His breath was rough and hot in her ears as he rumbled, "Got you."

Judy smiled demurely, hooked her leg behind his and dropped him on his back.

"No. I've got you."

Nick flowed into the wood of the floor and pounced on her from the door frame, "You sure about that?"

"You have got to teach me that trick."

"There's plenty of time for that, later."

"Oh, gods, yes!"

Their lips met as they fought for dominance. He was larger, heavier and had plenty of tricks, but Judy was trained. Anytime he got the drop on her, she reversed it. Any pin he got, she broke. They battled between kisses, each spending time on top and pinned to the floor, or walls, before Judy conceded.

They were both panting and trembling and done waiting.

Nick spoke first. "Last chance, Carrots. You sure you don't want to wait for our first date?"

"Our first date was knocking over a building. Now, shut up and take me to bed."

Nick needed no further prompting. He scooped her into his arms, only to find her legs and arms locked around him at the waist and neck. The few steps to the bed were clumsy and distracted as she took her liberty to nuzzle, nibble and stroke at his throat and collarbone. It was only a few seconds, but as soon as her paws touched the mattress, he was done. Tendrils of air pulled from the cutting wind of Tundratown pooled in his paw, and with a stroke down one side of his body, shredded his clothes. The remains of his clothing were blasted off him by the aftershock of the spell.

Judy raked her paws over his bared chest, "Showoff." And bruised his lips with a kiss again, "Now, mine."

Nick shook his head and lifted her shirt, "An expensive trick. One your clothes don't deserve."

"Screw what they deserve. Give me mine."

"Yours?"

Judy none too gently dragged her fox onto the bed and pushed him onto his back. She shucked the rest of her clothes in a blink and straddled him, nuzzling roughly into his neck. "Mine."

Sliding up until she felt him rise against her, Judy wasted no time and impaled herself. Her mouth hung open until she flopped forward and her teeth found his chest. She bit hard enough to draw a pained gasp from her fox and felt him grow larger inside her. The combination of overwhelming sensations left her gasping and her mind blank. Blessedly, her body remembered and soon a rhythm as old as time began.

It was not kind or gentle, their first time together. That would come later. Their first night together was an expression of power and desire that had been years in the building. Judy's fists balled in her fox's fur as she rode him. In some small part of her mind, she knew that she hadn't taken all of him. She was overwhelmed with sensation and a fullness she had missed for a very long time. However, she was petite in the extreme next to him. The thought of more spurred her past the slow build and to a near-frenzy.

She quickly found herself riding him as though it were her last, slamming herself onto him again and again as the pleasure and hunger in her built. Nick began to meet her thrust for thrust and quickly Judy felt herself nearing the edge of her control. His paws landed on her hips, driving her down further onto him and that was all it took. Judy saw white as her first wrecking climax tore through her. Her blunt claws raked over his chest drawing pained groans from his throat, doing nothing to slow her pleasure or his enthusiasm. She was lost in sensation and, for once in her life, felt completely safe while totally vulnerable. The realization sparked another tidal wave of liquid pleasure.

It was some minutes later she came to her senses, lying on top of his heaving chest. She was very satisfied, but there was something wrong. He was still as taut as a piano wire and his breath was ragged and tense.

"Why did you stop?" Judy purred languidly.

"I wasn't about to finish with you in La-La Land."

Judy huffed out a laugh, which only made him squirm and cause his paws to twist in the sheet. She grinned evilly and squeezed down on him with all of her considerable core strength.

"What does it take to get you to cut loose?" she pondered out loud.

His answer was a snarl and Judy found herself on her back. She was held and lifted into position by his paws as he did precisely as she asked. There was no time for her to react before he was inside her again, deeper than ever and increasingly so with each thrust. The sensation stole her breath as she struggled to keep up with his new pace. She had to admit he fulfilled her request, though cutting loose would be an understatement.

He was practically savage.

Judy wanted to do more than lay there and take it, but quickly discovered she didn't need to try. His paws were a cage that held her in place as he threw himself into her with a desperate, wild abandon. In moments she gave up on anything but holding on, doing everything she could to encourage him. Unwilling to concede control fully, she hooked her legs over his hips and pulled herself into his hips, hard. He sank into her right to the knot, where he seemed to hesitate. Her paw snared the scruff at the back of his neck.

Pulling him down to her, she growled in his ear, "I know you're close. Now finish what you started. Claim me."

That was all the encouragement he needed. The last of whatever restraint he had was gone. Nick slammed their hips together, burying himself in his bunny right to the hilt. Then, it was pure animal instinct as he lost himself in her. She was his reality. All he felt were her legs on his hips and her paws gripping his neck and side and the perfect heat that held him, addicting him more with every moment. Her claws raking his ribs and the muffled scream from beneath him were the last straw.

He felt his knot swell inside her and as the pleasure blasted through him, all he could do was snarl, "Mine!"

The claim, the knot, the guttural, primal expression of how much he wanted her; it was enough to send Judy over the edge one more time. Her claws raked his skin, her legs clenched to pull him closer and her teeth clamped onto his shoulder, barely muffling her cry. In the deep part of her mind that wasn't lost in her fox, she hoped he would understand. She couldn't speak, so she showed him in every action.

 ** _MINE!_**

Larry Ramsbottom sat in the central control center for the Habitat Authority and watched the city lose its mind; again. The three main habitat systems were running amok, all while every diagnostic came up dry and all the monitoring systems read green, without exception. The room was full of tense and confused mammals who had given up any hope of keeping their jobs as they struggled to bring the city infrastructure under some kind of control.

In Tundratown, the cold-weather plants went into overdrive for no reason anyone could fathom. Cyclones of snow heralded the start of the largest blizzard the city had ever seen and that was just the start of the problems. The excess of cold air was sweeping across the Alpine District and into the Rainforest District, leaving swaths of foliage coated in ice.

On top of that, a massive sandstorm kicked up in Sahara Square. The climate walls between the tundra and desert districts were currently festooned with an array of strange, frozen sand sculptures where the sandstorm and blizzard met. The Rainforest District was suffering a massive surge of water pressure, resulting in the water distribution system overloading and causing the ice to creep further with every minute.

Then, with no warning, the wind and snow plants dropped to below-average levels and the electrical grid went insane again. It was about then that resignation settled in. Everyone left in the Control Center ended up sitting wherever there was a space and there was silence in the room. The phones were left off the hook and the alarms were muted. Every board was green and completely out of control. They were all screwed.

"I'm coming to you live from Tundratown, by the climate wall." The newscaster's voice cut through the silence. "There's been no comment from the Habitat Authority or City Hall on the strange malfunction in the city's habitat control systems, or the havoc being caused due to the phenomenon."

The population of the room quietly groaned and prepared for the worst.

"However," the young lioness continued in an unexpectedly upbeat tone. "The casualty and damage reports that are coming in are shockingly minimal; a few injuries from panic and fender-benders being the worst of it. It's been a strange evening and there has been some concern expressed regarding the instabilities in the system, but…" The camera panned away to show the climate walls around the district. "As you can see, the view is simply out of this world."

The following montage covered most of the districts affected by the strange weather and the subsequent light show. Frozen trees and eclectically shaped sand piles reflected the lights, turning the city into a kaleidoscope of colored light and shadow. Tundratown was a winter wonderland, the rainforests were filigreed in glittering ice, and the deserts were littered with natural snow and sand sculptures.

It was beautiful.

"There are reports of block parties and local festivals popping up across the city where mammals are gathering to enjoy the otherworldly spectacle." The calm, sweetly feminine voice of the newscaster drifted through the room. "The largest concerns at the moment are the effects of the excess water runoff when the ice begins to melt. The residents of desert regions are advised to get to higher ground or stay in their homes and prepare in case of flooding. Some of the wetter districts won't be too affected, but we already have reports of significant overflow in the Docks District and Bayou, unrelated to the recent tidal event. City officials ask that the citizenry remain calm."

The camera panned back to the lioness in the thick jacket and pencil skirt as she stood, smiling at the camera. "That said, in this newscaster's opinion, this is a once in a lifetime phenomenon. Everyone, please use good sense and stay safe. Otherwise, put on your coat and enjoy the view. This is Elia Pride, back to you."

Larry waited for a moment, considering, before standing up and grabbing his jacket on the way to the door.

His boss called out to him, "Ramsbottom! Where are you going?"

"Sir, with all due respect, I've done everything I can. I'm nine hours past the end of my shift and we're all probably going to be fired in a minute. I'd rather end this miserable night enjoying the view, like the lady said. My walking papers can wait for morning."

The rest of the room stood, stunned at the audacious words.

A moment or two after Larry was out the door, a ferret from the air handler division followed him, then a rhino from planning and an ocelot from the logistics office. Ten minutes later, the room was empty and not a word had been spoken since the door closed behind the bighorn ram. Everyone was out, joining in the impromptu celebration of the city in its unexpected glory.


	14. Chapter 13

A/N:

Ladies, gentlemen! Mammals of all ages! It is time for BWD to end. For now, at least. I need a break and the characters agree. I do have the next story arc roughed out on paper, but I need a breather so I can do it justice. The sorcerer and his apprentice will be returning with a few new friends and a new adventure after a reasonable interval. In the meantime, you will be seeing the return of the were-bun. I hope that is a reasonable exchange. Please, enjoy the last chapter of BWD, Part 1. Now, enough with the jibber-jabber. On with the show!

* * *

Nick's eyes cracked open, rather drunkenly, at roughly the same time as the sun peeked over the horizon. Part of his reason for gaining consciousness was the ray of sunlight that found its way unerringly across his eyes. Another part was his rumbling stomach. The majority of it, however, centered on the fact that he felt someone watching him. It was something he'd just managed to get used to in the last week.

"You know that's creepy as hell, right?"

"You love it," Judy quipped.

Looking down at the rabbit, Nick raised an eyebrow. She was in what had become her early morning perch—laying with her chin propped on her paws, her elbows on his chest, with her feet kicking lazily behind her. The sight made him smile. It helped that she was gloriously nude with a severe case of porn fur.

"Crazy rabbit."

"Crazy boyfriend of rabbit."

"Birds of a feather."

"—make a uniform pillow."

Nick chuckled. "What?"

"Something you said in your sleep," Judy chirped as she slid off him and onto the floor. "Come on, lazybones. We have something to do today."

"Carrots, we've done things every single day for the last two weeks."

"Other than rut," she tossed over her shoulder.

"Yes. Other than rut. I thought this was supposed to be a vacation."

"No, this was a week's leave for me to acclimate to my new position and get prepared after a week's mandatory leave following my review."

"You've had two weeks off, then. Why have we been so busy?"

She turned back to him and held up a paw, ticking off words as she replies. "Oh… Sorcery lessons, sex, apartment hunting, sex, reviewing personnel files, sex, selecting my team, sex, getting you back into your certification classes… And did I mention sex?"

Nick rolled his eyes. "Did I mention that I thought vacations involved sleep?"

"You can take a nap when we get home, or I can ride you like I stole you. Your choice."

Nick's paws swept a grand gesture down himself. "Your chariot awaits, M'lady."

"That's what I thought. Now, get up. We're due at the precinct in an hour." Judy gasped melodramatically when he untangled himself from the sheet and stood. He was covered in scratches, bruises, and bite marks. "Oh, Nick…"

The fox briefly looked himself over and smiled wryly. "Yeah… You really did a number on me."

"Oh, gods, Nick… I'm not sorry at all."

"If you were, I'd be worried about doppelgängers."

"Are those real?"

"Just think of the possibilities…"

"For which one of us?"

"Both."

The rest of their shower was peppered with Judy checking out the damage. While the fox soaped up and attempted to rinse, the doe found all manner of ways to get in the way. Not that he minded. For her it was cataloguing territory claimed, while for him it felt like badges of honor. She was very thorough and he failed to resist at all. The situation only worsened when they realized how much time had slipped by without Judy even getting soaped. Nick solved that by lathering his much larger paws and assisting her. It very nearly led to a much longer shower.

An hour later they were strolling into the main doors of ZPD Precinct One. The only hiccup in their preparations having been Nick's reticence about entering the precinct.

"So, what exactly is your problem?" Judy inquired over her coffee when they'd stopped at the café across from the station.

"I've been in that building many times, Carrots—"

"Exactly! You should be used to it."

"—But, I was usually wearing matched bracelets. You know, the silver kind? Joined by a chain?"

"No charges were ever brought against you and you know I put the fear of civil rights lawsuit into the chief and IA. By now City Hall is trembling in their boots, hoping that the statute of limitations passes on your ability to file suit."

"They'd have to cancel pizza Fridays in the office."

"And any other luxuries for about a hundred sixty years. Are you sure you aren't going to pursue civil action? You're within your rights and all the evidence is on your side. That nice hyena would do incredible things in a courtroom on your behalf."

"I said no and I meant it…" Nick let his statement linger for a moment. "That's not to say I won't change my mind if a process server annoys me."

"You're evil."

"Or practical. Even magic has its limits and any leverage is useful when dealing with demons." Nick made a gallant gesture towards the door, motioning for Judy to preceed him out of the coffee shop. "Shall we?"

Judy's hesitated inside the door frame before scooting back inside to make room for an ocelot trying to enter. Ears pricked, she looked up at her fox expectantly. "Demons? Are you serious?"

"Politics. The root of many evils."

"Politics is a fact of life for a public servant. Which you are, now…. Sort of."

"Talk about unforeseen turns…"

"Uhhuh. You're almost a functioning member of society again, after a decade and a bit off being a magical hobo."

"I was not a hobo! I had a home."

"A rotting room in a ruin is not a home. It's a hovel."

"I'd prefer the term "den", if you have to be pejorative."

"You're deflecting because you're nervous and delaying."

"You're too smart for my own good. And adorable."

"Talk like that will not get you a quickie in the mop closet."

"Office supply closet, then?"

"Let's go."

As they left the café a news update filtered through the air from the flat-screen mounted in the corner. The reporter was the same lioness that had made the initial report on the strange phenomenon two weeks previously. Her report hadn't changed much—more speculation and a little follow up with local mammals on the aftermath. That didn't stop Judy's ears from pinking in mild embarrassment. Nick noticed, of course, just as he noticed the extra spring in her step, her self-satisfied grin, and how she dropped her head like a bull, ready to meet the day head on.

He smiled as she lead him out to face the next chapter in his odd life.

He was nervous; not as much as she seemed to think, but that was also partly her deflecting her own nerves. It was a blow to his pride, but worth the allowance for his bunny. She was about to step into a new role as a team leader. It was a hell of a step up and under the watchful eye of many mammals of consequence. It would be a long time before she felt settled in her role and that was just one of the many changes they were faced with. The weeks previous had been a rather busy time for the pair. Despite being supposed downtime, Judy had had many things she'd wanted to accomplish.

"Carrots, are you serious?"

"Like a mortician on holiday."

"That makes no sense."

She'd rolled her eyes and huffed, "Yes, Nick, I'm serious. _You_ are moving in with _me_."

"We both can't fit in this toy box of an apartment, Hopps. I adore you, but you'd have to sit on my lap constantly."

"I fail to see the issue with that."

"For one thing, I don't want a second job as a recliner. For another, it would lead to other things constantly. We wouldn't get anything done."

"Especially since I spend my time at home nude. …And you're distracted."

"Shh… I'm visualizing."

"You can do that _after_ we get you signed up for your PI recertifications. We also have apartments to look at after lunch."

"Do you have the whole day booked?"

"All week."

"I do still have to work, sweetheart."

"And we can have lessons while _we_ work."

"Maybe I can skip right to the tests for my recerts."

"You might for some. One way to find out."

"Apartment hunting, recert tests, training and my work with the city… I got a girlfriend and my schedule's packed!"

"I've also earmarked several hours a day for us to rut all over this toybox."

"Several… How? When will we sleep?"

"When we can't physically move." Judy grinned wolfishly. "It'll be worth it."

Nick gulped audibly and smiled weakly. "What a way to go…"

That conversation had been the morning after they finally caught each other. Phone calls to the Chief and a few other mammals saw their week fill up with tasks, errands and to-do lists. Nick found that he was most definitely on Judy's to-do list and rather frequently. They did manage to find time to sleep, but it was frequently interrupted. Making up for lost time was an activity both of them enjoyed and neither complained about lost sleep. The neighbors, on the other hand were far less sanguine. Nick was glad they were going to be signing the lease for their new place after their introductory meeting—the one he was currently being led towards.

The first thing Nick learned upon entering the precinct, sans handcuffs, was that the desk officer could qualify for planetoid status. That said, he was a sweet if shrewd mammal in Nick's opinion. The considering scowl on the cheetah's face lasted until the rabbit and fox got into scent range. Then the felid's face morphed into a the most glaring expression of glee Nick had ever seen.

Judy saw the joy-gasm building on Clawhauser's face and knew once he got started he wouldn't stop for an hour, at least. She had to get to the meeting and was getting dangerously close to being late.

Judy barked, "Clawhauser!" The cheetah blinked and focused on her. "After my meeting."

"Promise?"

Judy stifled a giggle at the squeaked reply. "I promise. I can't be late on my first day."

"Oh! No. Go, go, go! I'll talk to you after. Everyone else should be there, already."

"Perfect. Thanks, Ben!"

Judy grabbed Nick's paw and rocketed to the stairs with a girlish squeal nipping at their heels. She didn't want to think about the conversation she'd be having as soon as they were done with the official business of the day. Conversations, she amended as she passed colleagues and co-workers in the halls.

There were many, _many_ curious expressions and a lot of considering looks that the pair got as they scampered past. She realized too late that dragging her new boyfriend through the halls paw-in-paw may have been the most overt way to advertise, but the damage was done. Dropping his paw, Judy hopped up and grabbed the door handle that hovered a couple feet over her head. A firm push from Nick opened the door and Judy let herself drop into the fox's waiting arms.

Once her feet were on the floor, she led him in. Seated around the table were a solid-dozen mammals. Some faces she knew well and others only from their personnel files. Two wolves, a tigress, a moose, a coyote, a badger and a lynx—her team. Also in attendance were Chief Snarlov, the otter who served as his administrative assistant, a beaver from accounting she knew only by happenstance, a goat she had never met before, as well as a lycon who looked vaguely familiar. Judy seemed right at home until a deep, booming voice rolled out from behind the door.

"Detective Lieutenant Hopps, it's good to see you again."

"Commissioner Bogo. It's been far too long, sir."

"It has. Are you ready to get to work?"

Judy looked around the room, her sorcerous perception on full blast. She saw Wolford and Fangmeyer's attraction like rubber bands between the two predators. Lupinski's barely restrained excitement sparked on the air. The mindsets and emotions of all the mammals in the room swirled and ricocheted off the walls. Everything from the Commissioner's resonant gravitas to the lynx's interest in the beaver's doodles was plain and clear as day. She felt the world turning under her paw and the heartbeat of the city—and she felt him. The warm, peaceful presence behind her, like a sleeping titan. Her fox. She had never been more certain.

"Absolutely. One hundred percent."


End file.
